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TSCC Budget Review 2001-02

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TSCC Budget Review 2001-02 TSCC Budget Review 2016-17 TriMet 1. Introduction to the District: The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (TriMet) boundary covers about 575 square miles of the urban portions of Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties. A seven member board governs TriMet without compensation. The commission members are appointed by the governor and are subject to confirmation by the State Senate. Employer payroll taxes, passenger revenues, and federal and other grants are the main sources of revenue for TriMet. Other permitted financing sources, not presently used, include business license fees, property taxes for operations, and a 1% maximum income tax. While TriMet does not have a permanent tax rate, voters approved general obligation bonds for Westside Light Rail which were retired in 2012. TriMet does not levy a property tax. TriMet was established to provide mass transit: bus, light rail, and LIFT door-to-door services. Passenger facilities include: 603 buses on 79 fixed route lines with 6,742 bus stops; 253 LIFT buses and 15 vans that provide service to the elderly and disabled. 127 MAX vehicles that run on 52 miles of track with 87 stations 15 mile Westside Express Service (WES) commuter rail to Wilsonville 7.5 miles was added to MAX lines in September 2015 extending service to Milwaukie TriMet also operates the City of Portland’s Streetcar. 2. History: Previous to creation of the Tri County Transit System, some 34 companies had served the Portland area in the previous 100 year period. TriMet began servicing the area December 1, 1969. By 1973 they had completed an action plan to reverse the transit system’s decline, consolidating all local bus service under TriMet and expanding the number of buses. In 1975 they began operating Fareless Square in downtown Portland transit mall with buses only on 5th and 6th Avenues. The downtown Transit Mall opened in 1977. In the early 90’s construction began on MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) Blue and Red lines (to Gresham and the Portland Airport) opening in early 2000’s. The Blue line was extended to Hillsboro. The Yellow line to Expo Center followed opening in 2004. In 2009 the Green line downtown to Clackamas Town Center added another 8.2 miles to the existing 44 miles of MAX Light Rail transportation. Cars were allowed on the newly designed transit mall which would include the MAX line and “bus only lanes”. Also added in 2009 was the WES (Westside Express Service) Commuter Rail line adding alternative travel from Beaverton to Wilsonville. In summer of 2012 Fareless square was discontinued. In 2015 a new bridge crossed the Willamette River. It is the first bridge of its kind in the United States, carrying light rail trains, buses, streetcars, bicyclists and pedestrians. The “Orange Line” to Milwaukie opened in September with the completion of TriMet April 20, 2016 TSCC 2016-17 Budget Review Page 2 Tilikum Crossing, nicknamed “The Peoples’ Bridge”. Over the years various ways of collecting fares has changed from cash only to a wide variety of payments including the use of smartphone apps, ticket vending machines using credit/debit cards, payments online, as well as the ticket office at Pioneer Square. TriMet is currently working on another innovative way to pay called Hop Fastpass which will make paying the fare faster and more convenient to be introduced in 2017. 2015-16 Year in Review In 2015-16 TriMet: Completed the MAX Orange Line to Milwaukie, on time and $48 million under budget, (currently averaging 11,000 rides per week) Added 77 new busses to the fleet; 60 replacement buses and 17 expansion buses Advanced E-Fare Program to the critical testing stage to make sure all devices communicate with each other Brought the Positive Train Control on WES to 80% completion. This was a federal mandate, The Rail Safety Act of 2008, on all railroads which operate passenger rail service such as WES. TriMet is on track to meet scheduled deadline . Ridership is expected to finish the year 0.04% above 2014-15. Received a AA/AAA bond rating, the highest rating possible Increased transfer time for passengers to 2.5 hours Passenger Fares will remained at the current rate, $2.50 (Honored Citizen fare $1.25) TriMet recovers only a portion of the cost of operations for each service provided. The following chart provides a look at “fare cost and recovery” or the percentage of operating costs that are paid by users of the system in 2015. BUS LIGHT RAIL WES LIFT System Cost Per Boarding $3.83 $2.92 $14.45 $35.58 Average Fare Per Boarding $1.10 $1.22 $ 1.10 $ 1.17 System Fare Recovery (Percentage) 28.7% 41.9% 7.6% 3.3% 3. Strategic Plan/Performance Objectives (Resolution 14-07-37) 1. Fiscal Policy A) One-time only money to support one-time only expenditures B) Continuing revenues support continuing expenditures and one-time expenditures C) When continuing revenues fall short of continuing expenditures, continuing expenditures must be reduced or continuing revenues raised. 2. Unrestricted Fund Balance and Contingency Policy A) Begin each fiscal year with an unrestricted fund balance equal to no less than 2.5 times average monthly operating expenditures. B) If unable to meet this expectation in a given year the agency must institute a plan to restore the unrestricted fund balance level within 1-3 years. 3. Debt Management Policy A) Debt service on senior lien payroll tax revenue bonds must be less than 6% of continuing revenues throughout the long-term forecast. B) Seek a Credit rating that achieves a balance between minimizing borrowing costs and maximizing financial flexibility. TriMet April 20, 2016 TSCC 2016-17 Budget Review Page 3 4. Fare Policy A) Financial: Strive for financial growth in ridership and passenger revenue o Pricing strategy keeps pace with cost of service o Encourage pre-payment of fares o Leverage electronic fare collection o Pursue industry standards in pricing for reduced fare categories B) Customer experience: improve customer experience while achieving operational efficiencies o Design fares to be simple to understand, easy to use and convenient to purchase o Consider impact on customers and equity when changing fares o Support simple and effective fare enforcement o Strike a balance between service quality and cost. C) Transit equity: Mitigate fare cost for low-income, transit-dependent riders o Reduce barriers that keep these riders from using transit D) Public Engagement: Inform and engage communities in decision making 5. Capital Asset Management (Capital Improvement Plan) A) Annual inventory and condition assessment of capital assets o Repair and replacement schedules o Investment priorities o Lifetime evaluation and maintenance plan for each asset class 6. Pension Funding Plans A) Board approved pension funding plans for TriMet’s two closed defined benefit pension plans which provides a process for determining appropriate contributions to the plan on a regular basis to achieve fully funded status within the approximate weighted average working life of the active participants in the plans. 4. Analysis of the General Fund: The General Fund is the district’s only fund, used to account for all revenue and expenditures. Payroll tax revenue accounts for 60% of TriMet’s operating revenue. In September 2015 TriMet board voted to increase this tax on January 1, 2016 by 0.01% of the wages paid by the employer and the net earnings from self-employment for services performed with the TriMet district boundary. Beginning fund balance: Total $316 million Beginning Balance Restricted amount $173 million 600 Unrestricted amount $144 million TriMet's Unrestricted beginning 500 fund balance meets board 400 requirement of 2.5 months’ operating expenses 300 $ $ Millions 200 100 0 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 TriMet April 20, 2016 TSCC 2016-17 Budget Review Page 4 Effective January 1 the payroll tax rate increased Resources from 0.7237% to 0.7337%. 2016-17 This increase is expected to generate $4.3 million in Federal & State revenue this year. These 11% dollars are dedicated to new Payroll Taxes 46% and expanded service. This Passenger is a priority of the board and Revenue this budget. Payroll taxes 17% make up 46% of TriMet’s total revenue, while Capital passenger revenue Program contributes 17%. The 5% Light Rail Local Grants, Federal and State Grants Program Pass-thru & include $57 million ear- 17% Other marked for Preventative 4% Maintenance while the Light Rail Program dollars total $125 million and is from federal grants from the PMLR project. The category labeled “Local Grants, Pass-thru & Other” includes advertising, service contracts and pass-through monies. TriMet FY 2016-17 Approved Budget Resources Dollars in Millions Change 2015-16 2016-17 Increase/(Decrease) Estimate Budget $ % Beginning Fund Balance 239 316 77 32% Operating Revenue: Payroll Taxes 312 339 27 9% Passenger 118 121 3 3% Advertising 3 4 1 7% Accessible Transportation 6 6 0 0% Contracted & Special Service 8 8 0 0% Federal 85 86 1 1% State 1 1 0 0% Local 7 7 0 -0% Other 4 4 0 0% Interest 0 0 0 0% Subtotal Operating Rev 546 576 31 6% Other Transactions: Pass Through Resources 67 131 64 97% Debt Proceeds 126 23 -103 -82% Total Revenue 738 730 -8 -1% Total Resources 977 1,046 69 7% TriMet April 20, 2016 TSCC 2016-17 Budget Review Page 5 Total Requirements increase to $1,046 Million from the current year estimate of $977 million, an increase of $69 million (7%). The significant increase in debt service is due to a one-time debt service payment of $225 million. But for that payment, the 2016-17 budget is lower than the estimated expenditures for this year.
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