MARTA Board Chairman Frederick Daniels on Monday pledged that the transit agency would rein in spending to prove to voters and legislators that it is a good steward of tax dollars.
The board, which already has a consulting firm searching for ways to cut spending and improve efficiency, now needs to educate the public, the governor and the legislature about how it's shoring up its finances, he said. Monday, the board approved restructuring $200 million in bond issues calculated to save the agency $1.5 million over two years.
"A savings of $1.5 million is significant," Daniels said after the meeting. "This board is taking a stand on operating efficiency."
Last week, Gov. Nathan Deal said that MARTA needed to reform its operation. The governor indicated voters rejected the regional transportation sales tax last Tuesday in part because $600 million was earmarked for MARTA maintenance and infrastructure upgrades, $700 million for the $1.6 billion Clifton Corridor light rail line and $225 million for an all-day express bus service running between south DeKalb county and employment centers.
State Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, said that MARTA has to demonstrate to lawmakers that it is conservative in spending and willing to consider privatization of some services to win legislative cooperation. MARTA wants lawmakers to allow it more flexibility in how it spends sales tax.
"It is quite possible that there will be more conversation between the legislature and MARTA," said Jacobs, who chairs the joint-legislative committee that monitors MARTA. "There are large portions of MARTA operations that you could privatize."
Jacobs said MARTA could possibly save money by privatizing its bus service and some internal operations such as payroll.
The failure of the transit tax was a set back for transportation projects and improving the infrastructure but MARTA officials said it would not impact safety. Rich Krisak, MARTA assistant general manager for rail operations, was cautiously optimistic that federal grants could help address the estimated $2 billion in needed maintenance and upgrades over the next decade.
"We don't stand by ourselves," he said. "The federal government is a strong funding partner."
Donald Williams, senior director for transportation planning, said the agency would continue the planning and environmental studies required for the Clifton Corridor light-rail and other projects that were to be funded by the rejected transportation sales tax.
But Williams acknowledged that, with the failure of the regional transportation sales tax, the agency would not be able to build the projects with its current funding restraints. Federal construction grants usually requires a 50 percent local match for construction grants for new transit projects, which would mean $800 million for the light rail.
"We would certainly need additional funding," he said.
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