Pittsburgh, PA, June 26, 2009 – Port Authority of Allegheny County adopted a balanced Operating Budget for its upcoming 2010 fiscal year that maintains service levels and calls for a nominal fare increase starting in January.
The Authority’s Board of Directors today approved the $362.9 million Operating Budget, which covers the 2010 fiscal year that starts July 1, 2009. The Board also approved a $155.2 million Capital Budget that establishes spending levels for maintaining the Authority’s facilities and buying new buses.
Today’s budget approval follows months of trying to find ways to offset a double-digit deficit projection for the 2010 fiscal year.
“We need to stress financial responsibility, especially during a time when our funding levels are flat and we face the reality of taking money from crucial maintenance projects to plug gaps in our Operating Budget,” said Authority CEO Steve Bland.
The budget relies on a Jan. 1, 2010 fare increase – but no service cuts -- to generate about $4 million in new revenue. The amount of the increase will be determined later this year. The fare increase is the result of a state Transportation Funding and Reform Commission recommendation that the Authority review its fare levels on a regular basis and consider nominal increases every year or two to better keep pace with inflationary forces.
A public hearing will be held this fall regarding the fare increase, which the board anticipates considering at its Oct. 23 meeting.
The Authority tapped several pockets of money in order to balance the FY 2010 budget. Among the moves, the Authority took $7.1 million from a maintenance account in its Capital Budget.
The Capital Budget was cut back due to a lack of available money. Among the projects cut out of the Capital Budget is the replacement of the Neville Bridge Deck along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway and replacement of the bus radio system.