BART Board begins FY17 Budget Discussion

BART is in the process of developing its Fiscal Year 2017 budget. The Board received its first look at the proposed budget during the April 14^th Board of Directors meeting.

Download the presentation here.

Watch an archive of the Board meeting. (Click on April 14^th meeting, item 4A)

Read the Preliminary Budget Memo.

NEXT STEPS

• April 28 FY17 Preliminary budget procedural actions at Board meeting
• May 12 “Sources, Uses, Service Plan” presented at Board meeting
• May 25 Online budget townhall to answer questions from the public submitted by twitter and email.  
• May 26 Public hearing and resolution to adopt FY17 Proposition 4 Appropriations Limit
  
  FY17  Proposition 4 Public Notice
  
  FY17 Appropriations Limit - Attachment 1
  
  FY17 Appropriations Limit - Attachment 2
       
• June 9 Resolution to adopt FY17 budget at Board meeting

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

• The proposed $1.8 billion budget ($889.5 million for Operating and $876.3 for Capital) is a prudent one as revenues are constrained due to a projected slowdown in ridership growth and sales tax income. 
• Estimated average weekday ridership is 445,441, which is a moderate 2.3% growth.  This is slight lower that then 2.9% growth expected for the current fiscal year and far less than the 6% growth experienced in FY15. 
• The Capital Budget provides $372 million towards BART top 3 projects- The new Fleet of the Future car replacement project, a new train control system to allow trains to improve reliability run more frequently, and a new maintenance facility for the new fleet.
• Two-thirds of the Capital Budget is directed towards system reinvestment to address BART’s most critical capital needs continuing our long-standing practice of reinvesting in infrastructure, particularly in recent years. Over the past five years, BART has shifted the amount of funds dedicated to reinvestment projects from 31% (FY13) to 67% (FY17). See slide 9 in above power point for details.
• The budget plans for the opening of the Warm Springs/South Fremont Station this year and is preparation for the opening of two new extensions in FY18, the Silicon Valley Berryessa Project (construction and operating funded entirely by VTA), and the eBART Project to eastern Contra Costa County.
• The capital budget allows for construction to begin in FY17 to modernize the following stations (click on links for project details and renderings): Powell, Balboa Park walkway, 19^th Street, El Cerrito del Norte, Concord Plaza, and Downtown Berkeley plaza.
• The budget proposes to partner with the City and County of San Francisco to help pay for a new homeless outreach team leader to engage chronically homeless individuals at our San Francisco stations and help them in establishing care and permanent housing. 
• In response to platform crowding at Downtown San Francisco stations, the capital budget proposes to fund five new “platform controller” positions to staff platforms during the morning and evening peak commute times and assist passenger traffic, medical emergencies, train door problems and to help communicate with the Operations Control Center and riders.
• Four new parking enforcement officers are being proposed to monitor lots and ensure parking compliance.
• Funding is proposed to improve signage at stations, increase secure bike parking, and to test new types of Public Address systems at two types of stations (underground and freeway median) to assess performance to guide future improvements.