AC Transit Board Approves Balanced Budget

News Articles
06/09/2011

The AC Transit Board of Directors has adopted a balanced budget plan, the byproduct of numerous difficult decisions to reduce costs, increase revenues and streamline internal operations.

The two-year spending plan—averaging approximately $320 million per year– was ratified by a 6 to one vote. Director Greg Harper dissented.

“It has been extremely difficult to balance this budget and it is a tenuous balance at best,” said Interim General Manager Mary King. “Without cuts in expenditures and increases in revenue there is no way we would have been able to balance the budget at this time and stave off further cuts to service. Thankfully our Board has demonstrated the courage to make difficult business decisions in these unpredictable economic times.”

Certainly, the budget process was aided when the Metropolitan Transportation Commission agreed that at least $24 million in capital funds could be re-directed to help fund operations. But the budget could not have been balanced without the Board taking several painful steps to reduce expenses and increase potential revenues.

In recent weeks, among other things, the Board has closed the Division 3 bus yard in Richmond and the Paratransit Unit at Division 8 in Oakland; outsourced the Dumbarton Bridge services and the PBX call center; eliminated 54 employee positions, including 20 management slots; and adopted a 10-year fare policy that begins in August with 10-cent increase in the basic adult fare.

Those actions were significant, considering that the District had already:

-         Eliminated another 90 positions including a third of its executive management staff

-         Curtailed the use of district vehicles

-         Canceled management leave benefits.

-         Gotten concessions from the bus operators’ Amalgamated Transit Union.

-         Adopted a fare increase

-         Scrutinized all expenditures and eliminated all but those deemed to be essential

-         Instituted a hiring freeze for all positions unless critical to maintaining operations

-         Mandated staff to achieve operating/service efficiencies of 15 percent of the budget

-         Adjusted service, reducing operational bus hours by 13 percent as of October last year.

The Board has also cut its salary by 5%, cut its travel by 50%, and eliminated a special travel account for transit advocacy.