Before a key workshop on Friday, an interim General Manager will be voted for confirmation.  The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will confirm Evelynn Tran as its interim General Manager and CEO.  If confirmed, she will replace Nuria L. Fernandez, who resigned from VTA on Tuesday to accept a deputy administrator post at the Federal Transit Administration.

After the confirmation vote, the VTA Board Of Directors will have a workshop to discuss how funding for 2016 Measure B sales tax will be spent for the next ten years.  Read more and learn how you can tell the VTA Board to preserve funding for bus and light rail service in Friday morning’s workshop.

Background

VTA Chair Glenn Hendricks has decided to appoint current VTA General Counsel Evelynn Tran as interim General Manager. The VTA Board Of Directors will be holding a special meeting from 9:00-9:15am to ratify this appointment. The workshop will start at 9:15am, after the confirmation vote.

On Friday, January 22nd at 9:00am, the VTA Board will be having a workshop to discuss their budget and how funding from the 2016 Measure B sales tax will be spent over the next 10 years. They will also be discussing options for bonding (borrowing money) to fund Measure B projects and programs. This will ultimately lead to the board voting on a 10-year outlook which will determine what is funded in the next 10 years.

While we haven’t taken a position on the staff bonding proposal or alternatives, we do support the preservation of transit service. If transit operations funding isn’t included in the 10-year outlook, cuts to transit service will be made.

We are encouraging people like you to make public comments sharing your story, talking about how transit cuts would further impact your community, and urging the board to prioritize transit operations in the budget. Planning to make a public comment? Please make sure to wait until after the vote to appoint the new General Manager has happened.

Access and read more the full agenda for this VTA workshop here.  Sign up for a text alert when the action item is up.

How YOU Can Get Involved

Here’s how you can take part in the VTA workshop:

By Zoom Teleconference

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87119277282 (press “raise hand” to make a public comment)

By Telephone

Call in: +1 669 219 2599 Enter Meeting ID: 871 1927 7282 (press *9 to make a public comment)

Talking Points

What to include in your public comment:

• Your name, where you live, and what organizations you are part of.
• Why transit is important to you. Do you ride transit? Do your friends, family, or community ride transit? Do you care about the positive impact that transit has on the climate or traffic or housing?
• Something along the lines of “I urge you prioritize transit operations in the upcoming budget”

Also, read the chart below. It shows where money can be found to help make better transit happen.

• The $55 million – $90 million CARES ACT SURPLUS (last line below) would be a good place to start.
• Next, the $300/passenger BART operating subsidy (2008 Measure A 1/8 cent sales tax = $50 million/year) needs revisiting.
• Last but not least, please remember the 20% ($40 million/year) of 2000 Measure A 1/2 cent sales tax dedicated to bus and light rail operations that the BART consultants want to grab for the next 10 years ($400 million out of $1.983 billion funding “plan” for BART Phase II)

Questions On This Action?

Please email Monica Mallon at monicamallon@icloud.com if you have any questions.  Feel free to share this information with your community!

Eugene Bradley
Founder & CEO, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Roland Lebrun and Monica Mallon contributed to this report.