On Jan. 29, in response to his request, Local 1245 met with Sacramento Regional Transit General manager Mike Wiley.
During that meeting, he informed the union that RT’s Fiscal Year 2010 budgeted operating revenues are coming in below their expectations. In addition, RT’s fare revenue is now projected to be approximately $7 million below budget.
The District indicated that sales tax revenues dedicated to transit continue to decline. Meanwhile, Governor Schwarzenegger recently announced he intends to permanently eliminate State Transit Assistance Funds, thus creating a very difficult environment for the current negotiations between IBEW Local 1245 and Regional Transit.
General Manager Wiley stated that in order to trim $16 million from this year’s budget, the District is going to have to make more cuts in service to the public, which will translate into employee layoffs. The District is currently working on where those cuts will occur. Local 1245 expects to sit down with District officials to discuss the impact over any layoffs.
The District and Local 1245 continue to meet in the hope of reaching agreement in the on-going negotiations.