Regional officials are talking about using $25 million in bailout money to help MARTA cover its operating costs.
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) recommended last week that funds earmarked for transit improvements go towards keeping MARTA afloat. The transit system is unable to cover its budget shortfall and operating costs, due to strict regulations on how it spends its revenue. MARTA gets the bulk of its funding from sales tax revenue, and it’s required to spend 50% on operating costs and 50% on capital expenses. This $25 million dollars would be a band aid fix, but it certainly beats cutting a day of service, like the MARTA board was proposing.
Not everyone is thrilled about this idea.
Some folks are saying that allocating these stimulus funds will make it harder to get MARTA the freedom to spend its budget how it sees fit. Georgia Regional Transit Authority (GRTA) committee member Charlotte Nash says:
We bailed the Legislature out of their inaction. I think this is going to make it very difficult to get legislation passed in the next session.
The system has $65 million of capital funds that it can’t touch due to state regulations. A bill aimed at changing that situation passed the Senate but failed in the House due to “political wrangling.”
Nothing is set in stone. Since stimulus money is technically supposed to go towards “shovel ready” projects, not existing operations, the ARC will have to vote on the proposal, and it might require approval from Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.
So what do you think? Are MARTA officials shooting themselves in the foot by accepting this short-term help?
Image Credit: Marta Token. Remixed Creative Commons photo by r reeves.
About Becky Striepe
