VALLEY LIKELY TO LOSE FUNDS TO MTA.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer The MTA's 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. sector will likely forfeit $1.2 million in savings from last year's operations, despite having pressured headquarters to let it spend the money to enhance local bus service, officials say. During its first year of operation, the Valley performed the best of the MTA's five new sectors, coming in $1.2 million under its $98.9 million budget by cutting workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. costs and trimming labor expenses. Valley officials had hoped to be able to reinvest re·in·vest tr.v. re·in·vest·ed, re·in·vest·ing, re·in·vests To invest (capital or earnings) again, especially to invest (income from securities or funds) in additional shares. the savings in their operation. Instead, officials said the money likely will be used to help offset a looming $22 million deficit in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $2.3 billion budget. ``The money's been spent, it's been reallocated, it's gone,'' said Valley Service Sector Council chairman Coby King, who authored a resolution passed late Wednesday pressing 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. to release this and future savings back to the Valley. ``If we don't get part of that $1.2 million, where's the incentive to save anything? Where's the incentive to do a good job? We're no better off than if we do a lousy job. That's the typical bureaucratic bu·reau·crat n. 1. An official of a bureaucracy. 2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. bu message,'' said David Fleming
David Fleming , a member of the Valley Sector Council. ``You got to reward excellence. ... Maybe it isn't $1.2 million, but something. What signal does that send to the rest (of the sectors)?'' On Thursday, MTA officials reiterated earlier statements that the Valley and other sectors would keep any savings they generate, but said arranging that may take some time. MTA Deputy Chief Executive Officer John B. Catoe said earlier proposals for a separate Valley transit Valley Transit is a city bus and paratransit commission operated by the city government of Appleton, Wisconsin. The system operates across the Fox Cities and serves the cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha and Neenah, as well as the towns of Buchanan, Grand Chute and zone estimated it would take four years to become fully independent - much like dividing a major company into new divisions. ``I'm asking for the same four years. I'm doing all my efforts to do it faster,'' he said. Council member Kymberleigh Richards said controlling the purse strings purse strings or purse·strings pl.n. Financial support or resources, or control over them: the politicians who control federal purse strings; tightened the corporate purse strings. is an issue that needs to be worked out as the sectors establish their independence. ``There has to be a mechanism created ... to say, 'OK, at the end of each fiscal year, we look and see where each sector is,''' she said. ``This is just part of the process, going forward with a new way of running the transit agency.'' Lisa Mascaro, (818) 713-3761 lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion