BART is on track to face a $33 million budget deficit by next summer if the agency does not see an increase in passengers or more federal relief funding in the coming months, agency officials said at BART’s Board of Directors meeting Thursday.
The agency currently has enough cash on hand to make it at least through the third quarter of the fiscal year, according to Pamela Herhold, BART’s assistant general manager for performance and budget.
That security, Herhold said, is due in part to millions in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In the coming months, however, Herhold and BART budget director Christopher Simi said the agency will have to consider cost-saving measures such as early retirement incentives, staff reassignment, service reductions
and layoffs.
BART executives, including General Manager Bob Powers, had lauded the agency’s budget staff over the summer for developing a budget that did not include layoffs, instead cutting planned expenses via measures like a
hiring freeze.
Now, even potential layoffs may not be enough for the agency to balance its finances, according to Simi.
“I do want to be clear that we do not anticipate that net savings from the combination of this whole process will reduce our operating costs to the point where they match our projected (fiscal year 2021) revenues at this time,” Simi told the BART board Thursday.
“That said, this process will of course be a critical piece of getting there,” he said.
BART’s daily ridership is hovering around 13 percent of its pre-coronavirus pandemic levels and is not rebounding as the agency had originally planned for.
As a result, BART ridership has the potential to fall short of 40 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of fiscal year 2021 on June 30 of next year.
Board Directors Debora Allen and Liz Ames suggested that the agency’s budget staff should return to the board before February, their next scheduled budget update, due to the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.
Ames went so far as to float a potential bankruptcy for BART if the agency does not see a significant uptick in revenue, outside funding support or both.
“I hope that we get federal funding,” she said. “At this point, I don’t see how we’re going to survive in the future.”
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Hoping for a bailout?
.
Go bankrupt. Give us our tax bonds back. And then sell to a private entity to run and manage BART.
Agree!
I recommend a Taxpayer Bailout !
HAHAHAHAHAHaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Maybe it’s time to cut those hundred thousand dollar Salaries.Pay for there own medical and retirement like the a lot of the rest of us citizens.Its about time for the free rides to be over.
Pension costs are no longer being hidden. Same for the state pension time bomb. You WILL bail them out. Just watch and wait., that is, unless you flee from the chaos like those thousands before you.
Its time to conduct layoffs and salary reductions where contracts don’t prohibit it. You’re operating WAY below capacity, cut back. The pay is SO high you will have no problem filling positions when things pick up.
Considering that for 30 years BART hasn’t been able to throttle blatant overtime abuse, what are the chances that there are any contracts allowing salary reductions? Or layoffs without a protracted legal battle?
Yay for BART bankruptcy. Let’s wipe the slate clean.
So on the BART website 2021 adopted budget page 33, they have $34.9 million dollars budgeted for overtime wages versus $476.8 million for standard wages. What?
And that budget won’t hold. Bart is already $21.2 over on the labor budget for 2020 when service hours and trains have been cut.
don’t worry bart, gavin and the bleeding hearts and global warming fear mongers will vote for the tax increase, because their hearts hurt…
Sell it; privatize it. It’s a money pit, unsafe for those of us taxpayers that subsidize it to use. Time to finally admit BART administrators have failed us miserably and turned a great transportation system into a very expensive nightmare. Take BART, take your chances of being mugged.
Time to tighten your belt like the rest of us.
Great timing as I was looking at my property tax bill. Seeing two BART bonds still on being paid off. Gee what did those get us?
Now, even potential layoffs may not be enough for the agency to balance its finances, according to Simi.
let them rot
i cant believe a public transportation can hold us hostage and take our money
they blast the potus and slander and shun him as well …then have the gal to say well the fed needs to pony up or we fall ….
guess what liberals are always saying be kind and diversity
yet blast potus like he is shoveling manure on their children
or poking the eyes of their pets
its a joke i mean really who does things that way …treat people like crap and expect them to help them ….lol
democrats will stab you and then ask you to support their cause or else
who does that ….oh thats right criminals
bart is the same thing …..salpping you with parking fees
treating you like crap
allowing bums and fare jumpers
urine soaked seats and safe injection sites in the elevators
let them fall …………
its obvious they are for themselves and not the public
its about time these democrat liberal socialist loser entities fail for being hypocrites and irresponsible
Welcome to the age of remote work. It’s a brave new world. Surely the internet shall be taxed to recover lost transportation monies.
Well, a friend who works at a local refinery said they had a 10% across-the-board pay cut. My son had his hours cut. Many people have ben laid off. And too many businesses have closed altogether.
BART needs to cut expenses through a variety of layoffs and pay-cuts. And if the unions don’t like it…let them strike. Because “in space, no one can hear you scream”. Some of you will know the movie reference.
Alien. One of the best sci-fi films ever made!
If BART can’t manage their finances why should they be allowed to continue running into the ground? Sell to private entity and let it be run properly. Also WC should take a big look at this… Public transportation is not the best option for the future.
In the words of the great Sollozo in The Godfather…”I need, Don Corleone, all of those politicians that you carry around in your pocket, like so many nickels and dimes.”
The politicians will give the union a raise, Bart will raise fares and cut service.
Problem solved!!
They are dreaming if they expect losses to be just $33 million.
Although operating hours and service was down in the third quarter, (Evidenced by drop in budgeted power costs from 11.4 million to 9.7 million) the personnel costs were $4.1 million dollars higher than the budget. What were the employees doing during three of the slowest months ever on BART to cause costs to increase so much above budget. Year to date Bart Labor costs are $21.2 million over budget. If they continue to down play labor costs in the budget the 2021 deficit will likely be in excess of $50 million which is about all the money they currently siphon from property taxes.
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2019/san-francisco-bay-area-rapid-transit-district/
2019 salaries for San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
They wait seven months to decide they have a financial problem at BART. How can a company been run so irresponsibly. These people should be fired, and an entire new crew brought in to salvage what they can.
Let it die and bring back the bay ferries like the 1930s. Less crime, no street people, actual families lived in the City during the 30’s. Would you rather listen to Benny Goodman or some rap “artist” who mumbles through hate filled lyrics like awoken by a 3am phone call.
BART employee salaries are available for viewing at the link below.
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/san-francisco-bay-area-rapid-transit-district/?page=1
Three general managers are listed for 2019 with total pay and benefits as:
$479,244, $401,940.05 and $307,083.01.
It’s no surprise that these fools don’t care about tax paying riders. Bet their loved ones don’t ride BART. Can you imagine having to take a child onto a BART car nowadays. So sad.
Welcome to the real world BART, join the rest of us struggling with ever increasing costs and decreasing pay!!!!
15% pay reduction for all employees!!!
And deny all overtime!!!!
The same 15% pay reduction should also apply to law enforcement. They take up 57% of the Concord city budget. Overtime wages are exploited. Save tax dollars there as well.
Bart management compensation is bloated. However, technical and trade roles are comfortable and shouldn’t absorb the same reductions.
Dwight, the going rate for trades people and technical roles is $100k.
What electrical engineer or licensed industrial electrician would work for $50k and no benefits? It takes 4 years of schooling or apprenticeship to even have the title.
Would you apply the same salary and benefits cuts to law enforcement? Who needs healthcare and retirement packages right? Do police officers need to make $100k? $130k? On taxpayer dime?
“Ames went so far as to float a potential bankruptcy for BART if the agency does not see a significant uptick in revenue, outside funding support or both. ‘I hope that we get federal funding,’ she said. ‘At this point, I don’t see how we’re going to survive in the future.’ ”
Yippy !!! Beg your president harris for money.
Let me know when you take your children for a BART ride. I’ll sit with you.
When my company faced a loss like this we were asked to take a temporary 20% reduction in pay and we made some staff reduction. If BART was privatized you would see the same time of cost savings. But all they will do is ask for more taxpayer money and increase cost.
Not just a bailout but an increase (again) on taxes to go to them, plus more bond funds for them, plus fair hikes and higher parking fees. Then they will cry for more.
I don’t know about the details of the BART budget, but you can’t tell me that salaries isn’t a big part of the operating budget. Is BART living in denial?
Through Q3 2020
Labor 465.5 million (77%)
Electric Power $31.1 million (5%)
Purchased Transportation 23.6 million (4%)
Other Non Labor (think escalator, ticket machine) $88 million (14%)
Their labor costs are why out of line and getting worse.
A few people I know that work for BART as electric engineers talk about how they get to sit in their car waiting for work to be needed and just watch movies and play around on their phones for up to hours a time and get paid. Also how they will call more electric engineers than needed to a job site then tell the rest go home the job got done faster than expected and did not need as many as thought and get paid for the entire day. Just cut their pay they seem to have it easy enough anyway.
“The Metropolitan Transportation Commission approved a plan that would require Bay Area residents to work from home three days a week. The proposal, which was voted on Wednesday, would ensure that sizable, office-based companies keep 60 per cent of their workers home. Transportation officials hope it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb climate change in the area”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8775633/Bay-Area-officials-approve-plan-requires-employees-work-home-three-days-week.html
Given that bankruptcy probably inevitable, would be great time to privatize bart. Japan privatized transit decades ago.
Question, how much does overtime cost bart per year????
Hahahahaha!
That is the best news I’ve heard in a while!
BART is a disgusting joke!
So glad I haven’t had to set foot on that rolling dumpster fire since working remotely. Maybe if they would enforce the laws on fare evading they wouldn’t be in a bind……hahahahaha!
F.U. BART….F. U.!
What I don’t understand is why can’t government and its agencies declare bankruptcy. Eventually that has to be the solution. Wipe the slate clean, reorganize, and start over. How the heck else is Bart going to get out of the fiscal sewer they’re in? Ridership may never get back to what it was.
Maybe BART should investigate how a janitor made $250,000/year while sleeping in a closet on overtime pay. No oversight. Privatize BART and clean house.
Turns out, when there are so many jobs being terminated throughout the bay, they suddenly have no passengers for their trains!
SURPRISED PIKACHU FACE
When BART was first marketed to us taxpayers for it’s original bond money it was to be a state of the art system that ran itself by computer, no labor cost, in reality labor costs are out of control. Why in the over 40 years since opening and all the companies in Silicon Valley that build computer systems hasn’t BART been able to bring the original vision to life? Oh that’s right, it’s California politics, follow the money and corruption.
Debora Allen, the District 1 Board member representing most of us here, along with Liz Ames are the only Board members who don’t have their heads in the sands waiting until after the election hoping they will get more bailouts with taxpayer money. Three radical left social justice warrior Board members and several employee unions have thrown a ton of money to the campaign of Allen’s challenger. Allen has been pushing the budget issue for months, but they don’t want to deal with it. They have said they do not want to lay anyone off, and just try to move people around, smoke and mirrors. If you want a director who will not just wish for a bailout but try to do something constructive, vote for Allen.