Resolution 13-03-19 Approving the Proposed Fiscal Year ... - TriMet

• State of good repair – the budget advances TriMet’s state of good repair, substantiallyincreasing bus replacements and using new federal funds to rehabilitate older portions ofour rail system. These investments are more fully described below.• Services fixes – TriMet is able to fix a limited number of service problems, such asovercrowded lines, poor connectivity, access to new job centers, and schedule delays dueto increased congestion.• Increase union defined benefit pension plan funding, which is just 52% funded.Revenues. The FY14 Proposed Budget includes the following revenue assumptions:• Employer payroll tax growth of 6.6% in FY13 (underlying growth of 5.1%, 1.5% fromthe increase in the payroll tax rate) and 8.6% in FY14 (underlying growth of 7.2%, 1.4%from the increase in the payroll tax rate)• No fare increase. In FY14, passenger revenue is budgeted to increase 5.6% over FY13estimated results. Ridership is projected to increase 3% in FY14. The average fixedroute fare is projected to increase approximately 2.6% due to the final two month phasein of the September 2013 fare increase in July and August of FY14.• FY14 5307 federal Urbanized Area Formula funds are in the budget at amounts authorized forTriMet by MAP-21which are the same as forecast last year for FY14. FY14 Fixed GuidewayModernization (named State of Good Repair in MAP-21) funds are $9.5 million a year higherthan projected last year. The projected increase in State of Good Repair funds will fundaccumulated on-going light rail maintenance that had not been addressed in the forecastpreviously.Expenditures. The FY14 Proposed Budget incorporates the following operating and capitalexpenditure proposals:• Service: $1.6 million of additional bus service needed to maintain schedule reliability,reduce peak crowding and solve persistent service problems.• Fare Levels: The $1.3 million low income fare program is retained. TriMet'scontribution to the student pass program is included, as agreed to in an MOU betweenTriMet, the City of Portland, and the Portland School District.• Union DB Pension: The funding of the union defined benefit (DB) pension is increased$4 million a year in FY14 and an additional $2 million on-going in FY15. The fundingincreases in FY14 and FY15 will put the plan on a path to full funding by 2031.• Safety: Eleven bus operators are added to prevent excessive consecutive hours of service($956,000 annual cost). We continue annual safety focused training for all operators andsupervisors, and will extend implementation of the safety management system. We willalso add contracted security for events and on board presence.• Capital repair and replacement: To maintain service levels, TriMet cut back investment incapital replacement and repair significantly over the last ten years. This has resulted in an