Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 10, 1995 TAG: 9501100071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And as Congress sharpens its budget-cutting ax, the financial future looks even bleaker for the Roanoke bus system and its 5,300 daily riders, General Manager Stephen Mancuso told council.
Although the federal government this year contributed $955,000 toward the bus system's $3.6 million operating budget, "we expect [federal operating funds] to be completely eliminated between 1998 and 1999," Mancuso said.
That could leave city taxpayers paying for an additional $1.4 million, on top of the roughly $400,000 the city spends currently on Valley Metro.
The $1.4 million would be roughly equal to a 5-cent increase in the city's real estate tax rate, which now is $1.23 per $100 of assessed value.
The grim prognosis prompted Mayor David Bowers to call for a meeting with area congressional representatives, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, and U.S. Sens. John Warner and Charles Robb.
"Politics is changing the funding of these things, and we are going to have to make some very hard choices in the future," Bowers said.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor John Edwards said the city ought to ask for help from outlying areas served by the transit system, such as Roanoke County, Salem and Vinton.
"It's not just a city problem. It's a regional problem, a valley problem," Edwards said.
After a luncheon meeting between City Council and Roanoke County officials later in the day, Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy said he believes that idea is worth looking into.
"There are citizens of Roanoke County who could benefit from [Valley Metro] service," Eddy said.
Among the options Mancuso outlined before council is the possibility of forming a transportation district in Roanoke or in the entire valley and levying a 2 percent sales tax on gasoline.
Mancuso said if the district included only the city, it would yield roughly $1.25 million annually. The revenue would total about $2.5 million if it included Salem and the county.
Forming a transportation district would require approval of the General Assembly and the local governments in the district. There are two other transportation districts in the state, both in Northern Virginia.
The first sign of portending financial trouble for Valley Metro was raised in October, when Congress cut federal subsidies to Virginia for public transit systems. That forced the state to proportionately reduce mass transit money it will pass along to local governments beginning in July.
Because they rely more on federal subsidies, small transit systems took larger hits than big systems, Mancuso said. The cut in Valley Metro's share of federal funds will be $190,000, or almost 20 percent of its funding in the current year.
The quasi-public company also expects operating costs to climb by 3 percent, leaving a potential gap of $300,000 between expected costs and revenues.
Even worse, Congress appears inclined to cut funding even further. Some proposals now before the House of Representatives would phase out all funding by 1999, Mancuso said. Under what he called the "worst" proposal now in Congress, Valley Metro would see its federal funding drop to $320,000 in fiscal year 1997.
Mancuso said the bus system would be able to plan federal subsidy cuts if they were phased in over 10 years.
But "the mood is to do away with it pretty darn quickly. That's where the impact gets us. You pump somebody up [with federal funds], then all of a sudden you jerk the funding out."
Goodlatte's office did not return a phone call on the issue.
by CNB