MTA OFFERS TO FINANCE 16 PROJECTS AGENCY WOULD REPAY STATE WITH INTEREST OVER 10 YEARS.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer In facing state budget cuts, the MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. has unveiled a $248.5 million financing plan to keep alive more than two dozen projects - including the 101-405 interchange improvements and carpool car·pool n. also car pool 1. An arrangement whereby several participants or their children travel together in one vehicle, the participants sharing the costs and often taking turns as the driver. 2. lanes in the northern San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , officials said Thursday. The plan follows the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's successful proposal in spring to finance public transit projects like the San Fernando Valley Metro Rapidway and the Eastside light rail rather than lose them to budget cuts. If approved by the MTA board next week, the highway financing proposal would go before the California Transportation Commission this fall, behind three other counties using a similar strategy to get needed funds. ``It's going to allow us to continue projects that would have been delayed,'' said MTA Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky's transportation deputy Samantha Bricker. ``We want to get our request in, in hopes the CTC CTC - Cornell Theory Center would approve it.'' Sacramento borrowed heavily from transportation funds to help shore up the state's $38 billion budget shortfall. At the same time, the state got less in federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve and commercial truck fees than expected. MTA's director of Regional Programming David Yale told a board committee on Thursday that $2 billion in projects statewide are vying for funds. Under the proposal, the MTA would rely on $207 million in state bonds to pay for 16 Los Angeles County projects that are ready to go but stalled without funds. Included on that list are key Valley-area projects - the final piece of the 101-405 interchange improvements, as well as carpool lanes along the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. in the north part of the Valley and along the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. . The MTA would owe the state $20 million a year, for 10 years, and would repay the money by taking that much less from its annual allotments from the state. Included in that payment scheduled is $38 million over the 10 years in interest, which the MTA says is worthwhile to keep the projects going and to save $10 million in escalated costs that would come if the work were done later. The MTA generally receives about $200 million a year from the state, and the debt payments would amount to a 10 percent reduction each year. Additionally, the MTA seeks to keep 13 other projects on track - none in the Valley, but one that is key for the Eastside rail line - by getting a $41.5 million advance on its local sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. funds. The state would repay the MTA for using its local taxes on what would have been state-funded work by giving the agency in-kind future projects over the 10 years. However, MTA watchdog John Walsh criticized the plan, saying the agency is borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. ``There's no fiscal conservatism here,'' he said. Lisa Mascaro, (818) 713-3761 lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com |
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