BART Board votes to endorse governor's budget

Following the BART Board of Directors' unanimous passage Thursday of a resolution to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2010-2011 budget proposal, Board Members are now calling on Bay Area leaders and the public to voice their support of Brown’s budget plan.

"We urge our customers to contact their state legislators and ask that they pass Governor Brown’s budget proposal," BART Board President Bob Franklin said. "He’s made some tough decisions to fix the terrible financial mess the state is in without damaging the vital transit infrastructure that is so important to our economic recovery, job growth and environmental health."

"We’re hoping to use our leverage as the first major transit agency in the state to formally call on other political leaders to voice their support of Governor Brown’s plan," BART Board member James Fang said.  "While nobody is in favor of extending tax increases, Governor Brown’s plan provides a way for California to regain our financial footing.  In turn, this will mean agencies like BART can keep the economy moving both by creating jobs as well as delivering customers to their jobs.  The alternative is to slash transit funding, which leads to layoffs and service cuts and begins to derail our recovery."

Along with spending cuts and tax extensions to address over $25 billion in projected budget deficits, the governor’s budget proposal includes support for statewide public transit that would:

• Reaffirm the “gas tax swap” enacted last year, which dedicated the sales tax on diesel fuel to public transit
• Provide $329 million for transit in Fiscal Year 2011-2012  ($350 million annually by 2012-2013) through the State Transit Assistance program
• Provide approximately $15.5 million for BART’s upcoming annual budget