I-695 To Hit ‘Blessed’ Sta Head On, Draining Reserves Bus System Must Grapple With Tight Budget For First Time

For years, the Spokane Transit Authority seemed like a wealthy cousin in a family of beggars.

Through much of the 1990s, while city and county governments squeezed dollars until they squealed, STA sailed through its annual budget season with money to spare.

Spokane County’s reserves dipped as low as $400,000. STA’s reserves grew to $38 million.

The city of Spokane borrowed $2.66 million to fix streets. STA paid cash for the $20 million downtown bus Plaza.

“We have been blessed,” said STA finance director Jim Plaster.

Initiative 695 is changing that.

The initiative ended the state’s motor vehicle excise tax, replacing it with a $30 fee. Revenue from the tax made up 40 percent of STA’s operating budget.

STA plans to cut 20 percent of its spending for the next four years, using money from a $38 million reserve to balance the budget. If another dollar source isn’t found by 2003, STA will take another 20 percent hit.

“A big piece of the rubber has been pulled out from under public transportation,” said STA executive director Allen Schweim.

“This is the first time STA has had to come to grips with how to deal with a tight budget,” said former Spokane City Councilman Jeff Colliton, who served on the STA board of directors. “For the city, it’s a continual struggle to make revenues meet demands.

“The budgeting process for STA was not bloody during the four years I was on the board.”

Blood will be drawn this year, as STA expects to cut 103 jobs to balance its budget. STA officials planned to delay service changes until July, but recently decided to pare some in March.

The transit authority has lost 11 drivers, too many to keep service at full tilt. Some are retiring, but others likely are finding different work for fear their jobs will go, officials said.

Later this month, the board will consider a two-phased approach to spending cuts, with public hearings on the proposal taking place today and Thursday.

STA officials are considering eliminating holiday buses and special buses for events such as Bloomsday. Other proposed cutbacks include reducing the hours buses run on weekdays and weekends and dropping the frequency of buses during evenings and weekends.

As for layoffs, Schweim said he didn’t know which jobs will be terminated, but nearly one-quarter of the 493-member staff will go. He also didn’t know whether any currently filled administrative jobs would be cut. “Everything is open for consideration,” he said.

STA critics say it’s time the authority takes a hard look at spending.

“You don’t take a 40 percent hit in revenues and not change the way you do business,” said County Commissioner Kate McCaslin, who sits on STA’s board. “That’s why some people say 695 is a good thing. When it comes to government spending, there’s often only a change if there’s a forced change.”

McCaslin said she’s been critical of what she considers STA’s sometimes profligate spending practices.

“Everything STA does is absolutely gold-plated,” McCaslin said.

She points to several examples from last year: $1 million spent running the downtown Plaza, $800,000 on advertising, $400,000 on the Five Mile park and ride lot, $50,000 to remodel its executive offices.

“That’s what happens when you have too much money,” McCaslin said.

Curt Volesky, president of the union that represents STA’s 350 bus drivers, maintenance workers and clerks, wonders why the transit authority spends money to advertise a service with no rivals, especially with jobs at stake.

“We don’t have any competition,” Volesky said.

Schweim calls advertising crucial to keeping riders.

“We have turnover. Our customers aren’t with us for a lifetime,” Schweim said. “We always have an obligation to continuously educate people.”

He added that every spending item, including advertising, is under scrutiny. “We’re looking at everything in the whole process, where we can trim, reduce costs and still provide essential programs,” he said.

Schweim dismisses critics who say STA is merely going on a much-needed diet after getting fat on taxpayer dollars. When STA took over the former city transit system in 1981, it inherited a fleet of rundown buses, a 100-year-old maintenance barn and debt.

The STA board committed to building reserves, finance director Plaster said. A state funding package that included sales tax and motor vehicle taxes helped.

STA’s $38 million reserve proves the authority stayed true to its mission, Plaster said.

Since STA opened is doors 19 years ago, it’s collected from $1 million to $4 million more in taxes and revenues each year than it’s spent to run buses and paratransit vans. That doesn’t include the often lucrative state and federal grant dollars for capital spending on new buses and buildings.

“Why do you think they have that $38 million reserve?” McCaslin said.

The reserves enabled the agency to spend millions on capital improvements without borrowing money. And those reserves now are STA’s savior, keeping riders from being stranded by a 40 percent cut in services, Schweim said.

“One of the primary reasons we built these reserves was to insure us against times when our funding is not so good,” he said. “This is one of those times.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: MEETINGS Routes

The Spokane Transit Authority is holding two public hearings on proposed service cuts. The first is today from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The second meeting will be Thursday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Both will take place in the Champions Room of the Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon.