TITLE
Motion Expressing the Sense of Allegheny County Council beseeching the members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly along with Governor Ed Rendell to work without delay to pass legislation that will provide for the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and for every public transit entity in the Commonwealth, reliable, dedicated and predictable funding streams that are needed to keep public transit running and growing.
BODY
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the primary funding source for public mass transit operations in the state; and
WHEREAS, the two largest sources of state funds that are primarily used to sustain public transit operations are the General Fund Mass Transportation Assistance Budget Line Item and the Public transportation Assistance Fund (PTAF); and
WHEREAS, the increase in both of these funding sources has during the past several years fallen below the rate of inflation, the General Fund Mass Transportation Assistance Budget Line Item even being frozen for six of the past ten years; and
WHEREAS, these continued shortfalls have caused the Port Authority of Allegheny County to initiate a series of employee lay offs, fare hikes and service cuts including service cuts coupled with fare increases on September 1, 2002; and
WHEREAS, if it were not for a one time emergency flex of $10 million in highway construction funds to the Port Authority in FY 03-04, the Port Authority would have been forced to cut deeply into non-peek hours of operation service and increase fares again; and
WHEREAS, a projected deficit in the Port Authority operating budget of $30 million for FY 04-05 is once again raising the specter of the loss of all weekend and night time service and a fare hike to $2 base fare; and
WHEREAS, fare hikes, service cuts and the continuous threat of more of these has caused a 7% drop in Port Authority ridership since September of 2002, thus adding further financial strains to Port Authority operations; and
WHEREAS, reductions in service of the magnitude required to balance the Port Authority operating budget for FY 04-05, will have devastating effects on the lives of many people in Allegheny County and the surrounding region of southwest Pennsylvania including access to jobs, training and education, healthcare, grocery stores, shopping and other vital destinations; and
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh, which is served by the Port Authority and which is like other municipalities in Allegheny County under Act 47 distressed status and which is also under the control of a Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority due to severe financial shortfalls will be delayed in any recovery without adequate public mass transportation; and
WHEREAS, riders on public transit in Allegheny County are becoming increasingly angry with the annual ritual of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best; and
WHEREAS, public transit riders are becoming increasingly more frustrated with the lack of progress on the part of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Office of the Governor in resolving the public mass transportation structural deficient problem; and
WHEREAS, legislation that will address this structural deficient problem has been introduced and assigned to the appropriate committee in the General Assembly.
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, AND IT IS THE SENSE OF THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY that this Council hereby beseeches the members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly along with Governor Ed Rendell to work without delay to pass legislation that will provide for the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and for every public transit entity in the Commonwealth, reliable, dedicated and predictable funding streams that are needed to keep public transit running and growing.