Sfmta budget approved 041614

Colleagues: Yesterday, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved the agency’s Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Operating and Capital budgets. Passage of the two-year Operating and Capital budgets reflect the desire to fund necessary and critical infrastructure improvements that dovetail with the agency’s vision of San Francisco as a great city with excellent transportation choices. I applaud each of you for the role you played—and continue to play—as we work together to execute our 2013-2018 Strategic Plan, the roadmap that is creating San Francisco’s transportation network of the future.

Operating Budget The operating budget of $943.2 million in FY 2015 and $962.6 million in FY 2016 continues to benefit from an improving state and local San Francisco economy. Other revenues that support the SFMTA budget come from fares, fines and fees that will rise with the Automatic Consumer Price Indexing (CPI) policy approved in 2009. This policy encompasses Muni fare increases, including a 25 cent increase for daily adult cash fares on Muni. Private funding from Google, allows for a two-year continuation of the popular free Muni for low- and moderate-income youth program that helps replace yellow school bus service and allows families to get their children to school.

The FY 2015-2016 budget will fund a 3 percent transit service increase for FY 2015 recommended as part of the Muni Forward Rapid Network Improvement plan and approves eliminating Sunday enforcement of parking meters. In addition, the operating budget will also need to fund new labor agreements currently in negotiation. Other funding needs considered, such as funding a 7 percent increase in transit services in FY 2016; providing free Muni for low- and moderate-income 18-year-olds, seniors and disabled riders who use a Clipper® card as a pilot program; allocating additional funding for transit vehicle fleet cleaning and appearance; and eliminating all service transaction fees—are contingent upon the SFMTA Board’s determination of the agency’s fiscal health in January 2015.

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Capital Budget The FY 2015-2016 capital budget was also approved today and reflects the city’s interest in and commitment to addressing transportation funding needs. The Capital Budget of $562.9 million in FY15 and $637 million in FY 2016 is part of the SFMTA’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that prioritizes and allocates funding to ongoing, long term investments in our transportation system including the Central Subway, fleet replacement, the bicycle strategy, WalkFirst pedestrian safety, IT Communications needs and others.

The two-year capital budget reflects additional funding for certain infrastructure and core transportation projects that are dependent upon voter passage of the Mayor’s 2030 Task Force recommendations in November. Adoption of a $500 million General Obligation Bond and an increase in the local vehicle licensing fee by voters is necessary to implement many of the projects proposed in the two-year capital budget and to stem the continued decline of essential transportation system assets including vehicles, rails, overhead wires and maintenance facilities.

I am confident that both Mayor Lee and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will agree that our budgetary proposals responsibly address the city’s current and future needs, and will agree to the recommendations of our Board. And yet, even with this twoyear balanced budget, our agency still has a long way to shore up our operating deficits and address the needs of our agency. That’s why Goal 4: Creating a Workplace that Delivers Outstanding Service is such a critical component of our work together. By moving our culture forward to focus on service, we will be so much stronger and better poised to meet the current and existing demands of the transportation network and the people that we serve.

The results of our cumulative actions have brought forth a two-year budget that will address San Francisco’s current and future needs fairly and equitably, increase service reliability, and make public transportation accessible and affordable for all who need it.

I thank all of you for your efforts in making this happen.

Ed

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