14
street roots
March 16, 2012
TriMet’s first priority is service, regardless of budget crisis
BY NEIL MCFARLANE
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
our Feb. 17 edition had both an
editorial and a guest column on
TriMet budget issues, and I want to
set the record straight.
We all agree that TriMet provides a vital
service to our riders and to the region,
especially to low-income people and
communities of color. It’s the most
important thing we do. And when we face
budget challenges, service cuts are the last
place we look to fill any shortfall.
We’re facing a budget shortfall of up to
$17 million for several reasons.
The biggest cost driver is the unresolved
contract with the Amalgamated Transit
Union (ATU), in the range of $5 million to
$10 million. The current contract expired
more than two years ago, and the benefits
under the existing contract are likely among
the richest in the country.
The union proposal continues the status
quo of the expired contract, which includes
a $5 co-pay, employees paying no
deductibles, premiums or co-insurance.
Plus, the same level of health care benefits
continue for life after age 55 with just 10
years of service. An employee with Blue
Cross coverage costs $22,000 per year,
nearly twice the industry average and twice
that of non-union TriMet employees.
With no change, TriMet becomes a health
care agency instead of a transit agency.
It took two parties over 30 years to reach
Y
Neil McFarlane is the
general manager o f
TriMet
this point, and we need the ATU to come to
the table and begin to negotiate a trajectory
to long-term sustainable benefits.
Our employees are among the best in the
industry. This isn’t about blame.
It’s about the math.
The benefits need to realign for us to
restore service and keep -fares affordable for
our entire community.
A transparent budget
State law requires a balanced budget, and
we cannot borrow to fill shortfalls. Our
$400-plus million operating budget lists all
revenue sources and expenses for every
program and employee at TriMet. We are
transparent, in compliance with all state
budgeting requirements and our forecasts
incorporate estimates by independent
experts.
Contrary to your editorial and claims by
OPAL, our economic growth assumptions
are sound and based on forecasts by
independent economists and actual tax
receipt data.
Due to the Great Recession, we’ve
reduced our budget by $60 million,
eliminated 200 jobs and laid people off,
frozen administrative salaries now for the
fourth year and required non-union
employees to pay more for their benefits.
With the primary source of revenues from
employer-paid payroll taxes, less revenue
means less money for transit. IPs prudent
budgeting to realign our costs with
revenues, so we’re estimating about $3
million less in revenues.
Federal funds
Transit agencies across the country are
preparing for a potential loss in federal
operating assistance, and TriMet is no
different. Anyone watching the machinations
in Congress knows this is a real possibility.
OPAL is wrong and irresponsible in stating
we shouldn’t plan for a potential reduction
of $4 million in federal operating funds
because we receive large amounts of federal
capital construction funds. Capital funds can
only be spent on our light rail construction
projects, not for operations. So we have to
plan wisely for a potential loss.
We have few options to either reduce
costs or raise revenue. We are having
internal layoffs and program cuts, in
addition to proposing service cuts or fare
increases. None of these are what we want
to do, but we face a serious budget crisis
and must take prudent steps to resolve it.
As we resolve these budget uncertainties
- the union contract, federal operating
funding levels and payroll tax revenues —
our first priority is to restore service.
Meeting the transportation needs of our
entire region, especially those who are low-
income or communities of color, is our
mission. Transit plays a critical role in
moving us to energy independence and
reducing carbon emissions. Realigning our
cost structure for long-term sustainability
will allow us to expand service to meet the
growing transit needs of our riders.
The winter of our studded-tire discontent continues
BY ROB SADOWSKY
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
very time I hear the sound of a car
bearing studded tires, I cringe. Part of
it is the sound for me, and part of it is
the wonder of why. Why use them? There are
other solutions.
Part of it is the
knowledge that
studded tires are
STREETBEAT creating additional
wear and tear on
Bicycle
roads at a time
Transportation
when we are
Alliance
cutting
maintenance
budgets. It is why
we don’t allow studded tires year round.
I recently learned that studded tires are
only minimally effective in doing the job they
set out to do. Drivers can gain better traction
with snow tires and get better fuel efficiency.
According to an Oregon Department of
Transportation estimate, studded tires cause
more than $40 million of damage annually on
roads across Oregon. The state spends about
$11 million per year fixing that damage.
Jeff Bernards is organizing a campaign to
E
Healthy Streetbeat is a
monthly column for
Street Roots written by
the Bicycle
Transportation
Alliance (BTA). Our
contributors are Rob
Sadowsky, executive
director, and Margaux
Mennesson,
communications
director.
prohibit studded tire, use in Oregon. He has
established a p e tition drive to ban .studded
tires at www.preservingoregonroads.org.
Here are some of the simple reasons
Bernards points to for the campaign:
“Science & technology have made the new
snow & ice tires out perform studded tires.
Recent tests have shown drivers have a safe
choice when choosing a winter tire. The ruts
caused by studded tires create unsafe driving
conditions on our bridges and highways. They
also create unfunded infrastructure damage,
which is a long-term burden to all people who
depend on our roads. Our food comes down
that Toad, it’s in our best long term interest
to protect our roads.”
For example, a typical 30,000-mile studded
tire will destroy between one-half and three-
quarters of a ton of asphalt during its useful
life. Given that there are questions about the
efficacy of studded tires to begin with, it
should be a simple step to take to ban the
tires, right? Well, Oregon loves its studded
tires as we brave our icy roads. We also love
our civil rights, our sense of individuality that
asks government to get off our back. I wonder
if we can continue to afford the damages that
studded tires cause.
Fallen Off
the Edge
A new book by A r t G arcia
"Fallen Off the Edge" is a chronicle
of one man's experiences after returning
from the Vietnam War. Told through the
eyes of Street Roots columnist Art
Garcia, this book celebrates the major
victories born from a series of
questionable choices. Art's jocular
storytelling takes the reader along with
him in and out of the California prison
system over the course of 10 years until
he found the strength and courage to
pull himself up from the fall.-
The book is available online at www.
blurb.com under searchword Art Garcia.
The campaign first needs to gather ePough
signatures to get on the Oregon ballot. You
can learn more about the campaign and get
copies of the petition on line along with
finding out more details about studded tires
as well as alternatives.
There are other routes to an outright ban
included requiring permits, raising fees on
their purchase and reinstallation, and
restricting the locations that studded tires
can be used. The campaign has much work to
do. I remember very vividly the images of
cars sliding down hills during the winter of
2009. It is easy to sympathize with residents
of the West Hills who fear their daily
commute on cold mornings. Yet I find it hard
to believe that those residents of the West
Hills would have any trouble with switching to
snow tires. The tire industry should embrace
the change and not fight it. After all, people
will need to upgrade to snow tires creating an
economic boost.
While the battle might be an icy uphill
battle, my hat goes off to Jeff Bernards for
the effort. He truly is Don Quixote facing a
mighty windmill that we should all be inspired
by.