Bravo for the Transit and Parking Commission for doing the right thing!
At first, I was dismayed that they were the only one’s to hold a major meeting last night that was of great public interest.
| Tuesday, December 9, 2008 | ||
| 4:00 PM | DOWNTOWN COORDINATING SUB-COMMITTEE ON DCC GOALS (Cancelled) | BROWNHOUSE, 202 W GORHAM ST |
| 4:30 PM | 201 STATE FOUNDATION INC BOARD OF DIRECTORS | OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, BOARDROOM |
| 5:00 PM | AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMMISSION (Cancelled) | ROOM LL-120 MMB |
| 5:00 PM | MADISON ARTS COMMISSION (Cancelled) | ROOM LL-110 MMB |
| 5:00 PM | PUBLIC SAFETY REVIEW BOARD (Cancelled) | ROOM 103A CCB |
| 5:00 PM | TRANSIT AND PARKING COMMISSION | ROOM 260 MMB |
| 5:30 PM | ZONING CODE REWRITE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (Cancelled) | MADISON SENIOR CENTER, 330 W MIFFLIN ST, ROOMS 1 & 2 |
I thought that was irresponsible and definitely not good open government to hold a meeting under a blanket of snow instead of in the sunshine. I don’t believe they should have had the meeting when many did not risk attending the meeting. The good outcome, doesn’t really change my mind on that matter.
However, I’m THRILLED that the commission came to the right decision! For all the right reasons! To raise the fares in the middle of the longest recession we’ve had since the Great Depression would have been irresponsible. Especially given that there was no guarantee that the money would have been raised and the due to the concerns about the projections on the impact on potential loss of riders.
Thanks to the Capital Times for laying out the work ahead to fill the gap that will be left by the projected revenue that may or may not have actualized.
According to the Madison Metro Manager:
Kamp said his staff considered the budget cuts that could be implemented to bridge the projected funding gap. These cuts could include eliminating the marketing position added to this year’s budget, eliminating Metro service on the seven major holidays and reducing Sunday hours for buses.
But, according to the Commission members, there may be other options:
Commission member Amanda White, however, suggested delaying or not implementing many of the improvements to Metro championed by the mayor, such as adding money to Metro’s reserve funds, improving service and adding security measures.
“In a perfect world, I would wholeheartedly support these additional items but not with this fare increase that’s going to affect so many people and is going to reverse this historic 6 percent-increase trend that we’ve seen over the last year,” she said, referring to Metro statistics on increased ridership in 2008.
We know there was the $235,000 that went into the reserves that can be used, and the $150,000 in extra service plus, if they want to another $100,000 for additional security or at least part of that since they didn’t really get a quote on what that might cost and it is likely to cost less. Not hiring the marketing person will add another $65,000, there’s the $40,000 saved by not doing the Clean Air Action Days free rides and then they are only short $95,000 toward the $685,000. ( I hope I got those numbers right, a few of them were from memory.)
So, we’re close! There are options to not increase the fares, increase the ridership and not balance the budget on the backs of those in the city that are least able to afford it! Kudos to the TPC members for doing the right thing!
