LISTEN: Metro Warns The Region – We Need More $$$ To Stay Open

Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Metro’s running out of ways to cut costs and increase revenues and will soon be turning to the jurisdictions for help, according to Metro Board Chair Jack Evans.

General Manager Paul Wiedefeld’s made a lot of difficult choices to balance the budget for this year and next, yet the transit agency is still dangling from the financial precipice.

To cover an unanticipated $125 million revenue loss in the current budget year, Wiedefeld fired hundreds of employees, instituted a hiring freeze, sold land and created a policy to crack down on absenteeism. To cover a nearly $300 million dollar deficit for the budget year that starts this July, Wiedefeld has proposed service cuts and fare hikes.

“At the end of the ’18 fiscal year budget that we’re now preparing, he will have used every tool in his tool box, so to speak,” said Metro Board Chair Jack Evans.

Evans said he and Wiedefeld will go to the jurisdictions and Congress to tell them that they have done everything they can to raise revenue and cut costs. It will be time for the jurisdictions to contribute more to Metro to avoid dire consequences.

“Say they won’t. What happens? One of two things happens: we either stop running the trains altogether, which is really not a solution, or you start taking money out of your capital budget and use it for your operating expenses, which, if you wanna really kill an organization, that’d be the way to do it,” Evans told reporters Thursday.

The board will vote on the proposed budget for the 2018 budget year in March. Evans and board member Michael Goldman said fare hikes and service cuts are inevitable to keep Metro running.