The MARTA Board of Directors today approved the FY 2010 Operating and Capital Budget during its regular meeting, including the restoration of some bus and rail service that had originally been proposed for elimination. The approved FY 2010 budget totaling $787.6 million, includes a net transit operating budget of $399.1 million and a total capital budget of $388.5 million, which includes $134 million allocated for debt service. The FY 2010 budget takes effect on July, 1 2009, with service, fare, and internal cost containment/productivity measures taking effect at various times over the next several months.
Based on public comments received during the official comment period and at last week's public hearings, the board members in attendance voted unanimously to maintain rail service until 1 a.m. rather than ending it at 12 a.m. midnight, and to preserve bus routes that were originally proposed for elimination including routes 245 Blue Flyer (Emory University/CDC), 273 Blue Flyer (Fulton Industrial Blvd), 19 (Clairmont Road), 70 (Chamblee), and 139 Lenox (Lenox/Plaza Fiesta). MARTA was able to fund the restoration of these services by realizing some savings through the establishment of an irrevocable trust account for its post-employment medical retiree benefits.
"We heard from the community and were able to make some financial adjustments to restore critical bus and rail service to our customers," said MARTA General Manager/CEO Dr. Beverly A. Scott. "While we are grateful that we were able to balance our FY 2010 budget, we have not overcome our financial challenges. MARTA faces huge budget deficits in fiscal years 2011 and 2012. I thank our customers and the public for all their input and support throughout this challenging process; however, we are still in critical need of additional financial support."
MARTA's FY10 budget implements a number of new measures to balance its budget including a number of internal cost savings/containment recommendations; a 25 cent base fare increase and increases in pass prices; transit service modifications including elimination of non-productive bus routes and efficiency adjustments to duplicative, overlapping service routes; and adjusting rail service frequency.
Internal cost savings/containment recommendations include the elimination of annual merit increases for all non-represented employees; an increase in medical benefit contributions for all non-represented employees; implementation of up to a 10-day furlough for non-represented employees excluding MARTA police officers and operations supervisors. In addition, the Amalgamated Transit Union local 732, which serves MARTA's represented employees, has agreed to a 15-month deferral on collective bargaining on economic matters due to the current economic conditions.
"Thanks to the Atlanta Regional Commission for working with us to arrange a reallocation of federal stimulus funds, we were able to avoid even more severe cuts this year; however, this is a one-time infusion of funds," said MARTA Board Chairman Michael Walls. "We are facing increasing deficits in the coming fiscal years. It is imperative that we identify a permanent, dedicated source of funding for transit as soon as possible in order to avoid more drastic cuts in the future."
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) approved the reallocation of $25 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding to the authority for federally eligible preventive maintenance expenses. The GRTA Board approved the reallocation on June 10, 2009; Governor Sonny Perdue signed the measure on Friday, June 12 finalizing its approval. MARTA, in turn, will reallocate $25 million of the authority's capital dollars to fund transit-related projects in the MARTA service area.
A complete listing of the adopted service measures can be found on MARTA's website at www.itsmarta.com. Please note the restoration of certain services listed above.
Media Contact:
Cara Hodgson
chodgson@itsmarta.com
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