Governor Paterson has included the first quarter of 18-b STOA payments in an emergency budget extension bill. The amount appropriated was calculated by adding the proposed 18-b FYE 2011 appropriations from the General Fund (GF) and the Mass Transportation Operating Assistance Fund (MTOAF) and dividing by four. Under the approach taken by the administration, the emergency appropriation will be made entirely from MTOAF due to the cash shortage in the GF. 18-b appropriations from the GF will have to be made later in the fiscal year once the budget is adopted. As you are aware, 18-b STOA payments made by the state require a local match.

Click Here to view a spreadsheet which outlines the total 18-b state and local payments that can be expected for the first quarter. NYPTA will continue to keep its members informed of the latest budget updates. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Association headquarters at 518-434-9060 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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On Tuesday, May 25, Senator Chris Dodd (D., Conn.) proposed that Congress provide $2 billion in funding to public transit in New York and other big cities. Senator Dodd worked with a coalition of others, including Senator Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and lawmakers from New Jersey, Ohio and Illinois.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The bill would allow transit agencies to use the federal money to prevent future service cuts and fare boosts through September 2011. Agencies that haven't raised fares or cut services—and don't plan to do so—can use the funds for infrastructure improvements. "

This bill, if passed, will serve as a band-aid, but not a long-term solution to the ongoing funding problem that public transit faces across the country. To read more about the proposed bill, please click here.

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NYPTA Director of Policy and Strategy Rick Swist has prepared a collection of  excerpts that are of interest to the Public Transit Industry from Andrew Cuomo's campaign document: The New NY Agenda: A Plan for Action. The primary transportation references include creating a state infrastructure bank, upgrading the air traffic control system, and pursuing high speed rail.

Of particular interest, Andrew Cuomo's document devotes considerable space to state government restructuring and reform, including a section on reform of public authorities that contends that the recent public authorities reform legislation did not go far enough. Also noted is the fragmented nature of transportation governance and policy-making in New York State.

According to Swist, "Anyone looking for a full-scale commitment to public transportation in the Cuomo agenda may be disappointed in what they see. Rather, in an era of shrinking resources accompanied by anti-tax and government sentiments, the general policy theme that may be divined from the report is 'salvation lies within.' All entities dependent upon the largesse of the State can expect a heavy reliance on reforms, restructuring and reallocation, and not new revenue, as a means of delivering resources to priority services and functions."

The full 224-page document can be downloaded directly from Cuomo's website by clicking here.

Excerpts from Andrew Cuomo's The New NY Agenda: A Plan for Action

Rightsizing State Government (p. 61)
To restructure and right size the current bureaucratic tangle, a Cuomo Administration will establish a gubernatorial commission, called the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission ("SAGE Commission") to conduct a comprehensive review of every aspect of State government. The SAGE Commission will be directed by business leaders with experience in restructuring complex organizations and its charge will be simple: reduce the number of agencies, authorities, commissions and the like by 20 percent in the interest of saving taxpayers' money, increasing accountability, and improving the delivery of government services.

To ensure that the SAGE Commission's recommendations are implemented, a Cuomo Administration will also seek immediate passage of a "State Government Reorganization Act" that will empower the Governor to eliminate, transfer and consolidate state agencies without further legislative approval. Numerous Governors around the nation have this power, and New York's Governor must also have this authority to ensure that special interests cannot block the governmental rightsizing we need.

Click the Read More link below to continue.

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NYPTA May Vol.2 E-Newsletter

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