Some changes will be needed in the next few months to head off a $625,000 shortfall in the budget of Topeka's bus system.
Members of the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority board met in an informal work session Monday to talk about the problem and search for the least painful solutions.
Board members said they didn't want to appear ungrateful to the Topeka City Council for the increase in its mill levy to 4.4 mills, from the old cap of 3 mills, last summer. But it wasn't enough. And it was just for one year, meaning it is a foregone conclusion TMTA will need to go before the council again in 2010 to get that increase extended and hopefully increased.
Chip Falldine, TMTA finance director, said if the council refuses to extend the increase, the shortfall will grow to $2 million a year by mid-2011. To maintain the service level where it is will require a total of 5 mills for the 2011 budget year. Each mill of property tax means $11.50 on a $100,000 house.
By the time the council begins discussion of the 2011 budget next summer, TMTA expects to have a report from an independent consultant on efficiencies that might be found in the operation, or more likely, priorities for reductions in service to match the money available.
No formal decisions were made, but a number of suggestions were discussed:
- Increase fares. Falldine said an increase of 35 percent -- to $45 from $33 for the adult pass -- would generate an extra $120,000 a year. Each 10 cent increase in the fare generates an additional $50,000 a year in revenue.
But board members and administrators agreed fare increases would be more symbolic than helpful. They would be made mostly in response to city officials who asked that riders take on a larger share of the costs of the system. Board member Jim Daniel noted that the fare box contributes only 15 percent of the cost of running the system. And Janlyn Nesbett-Tucker noted that raising the fares too high will cause some people to stop riding the buses, thus reducing the good the service can provide and reducing the amount the fare increase was designed to produce.
- Reduce the work force and the number and frequency of the buses on the fixed routes. Those two go together. One would likely necessitate the other. Adjustments to the 14 fixed bus routes will go into effect Dec. 7 to trim expenses, but more likely will be needed to avoid the budget shortfall in the fiscal year that ends June 30.
- Turn the operation over to the city to run. That was a suggestion offered by TMTA board chairman Pat Hubbell. Others agreed the board needs to find a more effective way to get the message through to city officials of the consequences of not funding the system.
- Daniel also offered the idea of turning the system over to the county to run as a countywide service. But Hubbell noted that likely would lead to demands for service beyond the city limits and probably wouldn't generate enough revenue to pay the increased costs.
Mike Hall can be reached at (785) 295-1209 or mike.hall@cjonline.com.