More RTA?

I posted the following over on the Rag and then I thought, why am I giving away this good stuff?

I wanted to respond to one comment in your post and make a couple other observations: "I point out that Wood the is legal counsel for the State Office of the Commissioner of Railroads – so I would think it would make him a natural cheerleader for this project."


No, my agency is basically a quasi-judicial regulatory body. I have no rooting interest. Our primary focus is rail-highway crossing safety (highway being any type of public street, path, road, etc.). We don't run projects, like high-speed rail (HSR) or commuter rail or highway projects . Other agencies do that, like DOT, RTA, or municipalities. We get involved when those projects require changes to public rail-highway crossings.

I personally like the HSR project. It will tie us into the Chicago Hub Network of Midwest cities connected by HSR. It should not be viewed as a Madison to Milwaukee project - no, Madison is really not the center of the known Universe. I doubt I will take the train to Milwaukee very often, but would certainly take it to Chicago. On the other hand, I'm not sold on commuter rail. Will people ride a train to get from the far east side to the far west side in sufficient numbers to make it worthwhile? Maybe, maybe not. I sort of look at it like a new roadway going through the Isthmus - imagine how much that would cost even if it were feasible. But how many trips per day will this new road carry?


In any event, whether I think these passenger rail projects are a good idea or not really has nothing to do with my job of evaluating the safety impact.

The high-speed rail (HSR) project is an entirely separate project from the commuter trains. However, commuter trains would run on the same tracks as the inter-city HSR trains. So clearly, any future commuter train operation would significantly benefit from the money spent in the HSR project to upgrade the tracks, signals, stations, etc.

The RTA was, in fact, created partly to aid the County's funding application to the Federal Transit Administration for commuter rail funds. The FTA would not consider the application until there was a governing structure and a funding source. The "Falk letter" that has everyone's tights in a knot was basically in aid of that application.


BUT, the RTA is NOT only about trains.

I actually blogged this issue three years ago:

http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2007/08/rta-update.html

http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2007/08/more-on-rta-and-commuter-rail.html

Here is the estimated breakdown of expenditures at that time.


§ Bus service for Madison and surrounding communities – 25%

§ Town, Village, City and County road maintenance – 25%

§ Commuter rail – 33%

§ Rail/Bus Enhancements/County-wide Paratransit/Bike Transit – 16%


As it has now developed, the road maintenance part could not be funded by the sales tax under the law that created the RTA.

There's something about trains. A whiff of diesel makes a lot of people get goofy. We call them "foamers" or "FRNs". I never got that; to me it's just another way to move people.

Council Supports Transit Referenda

The Monona city council passed, by a 4-2 vote (Munson and Wood opposed), a resolution for the anti-train November referendum. The Mayor also indicated that he would have supported the proposal.

That referendum will read:

“Shall commuter rail from the City of Middleton to the Town of Burke be funded by a half-cent (0.5%) increase in the sales tax?"

 
It was another occasion where I thought logic was on my side, but to no avail. Do we want to spend ALL of the RTA sales tax revenue on a commuter train? Who could vote 'Yes' on that question? I plan to either vote No or - more likely - just sit it out to boycott dumb questions.

Melanie Stebbins, one of the residents who supported the referendum, made the most astute observation of the evening: The driving force behind this anti-train referendum is that a lot of people just do not have any trust that they will get a fair chance to vote on any future RTA-proposed sales tax increase. She nailed it exactly. I don't share that mistrust, for the most part, of county government, but the mostly well-earned corrosive cynicism that pervades the average person's view of state and federal government has made its way down to county government.

The council also passed by a 6-0 vote the proposal I offered (co-sponsored by alder Munson) calling for the Regional Transit Authority Board to hold a regular meeting in Monona, urging the RTAto adopt a regional transit plan that includes, among other things, increased transit services for Monona residents; and urging the RTA Board and the Dane County Board to conduct a referendum on a regional transit plan, including the amount of any increase in sales tax, at a regularly scheduled election and to abide by the results of that referendum.

In non-transit matters, the council approved an ordinance making the Sustainability Committee a Standing Committee. The Council also extended Green Valley's refuse/recycling/brush contract by one year while the City Engineer prepares an RFP for the next long-term contract. The Public Works Committee will be working on that in the months ahead.

Monona Transit Committee Rejects Referendum

The Monona Transit Commission, by a 4-0 vote, passed a recommendation to the Monona city council  against placing a proposed referendum on the November ballot. Alder Munson, members Nelson, Runk, and Stolper voted in favor of the motion. Chair Veserat did not vote (chair only votes in case of a tie).

Here is the proposed question:

“Shall commuter rail from the City of Middleton to the Town of Burke be funded by a half-cent (0.5%) increase in the sales tax?"

The Committee had RTA Chair Dick Wagner in attendance. He informed the committee that the RTA is still working on a transit plan. The committee also heard from alders Kugle, Busse, Wiswell, and me. (Alder Busse is undecided and didn't tip his hand tonight.) County Supervisor Schmidt was also in attendance and spoke briefly.

Several Monona residents spoke in against the referendum. Three non-Monona speakers, Bill Howard, Bill Richardson, and Bob Schaefer, spoke in favor the referendum.

The item will be back before the council on September 20.

I get it. The conservative crowd thinks their anti-train tack is good politics. That's why they want it on as many ballots as possible in November. 

But, to my mind, it's bad public policy to ask voters to vote on something that has not been proposed and will not be proposed. The RTA will not propose a transit system that only includes a commuter train.

And the question is worded to maximize the 'no' vote. State law allows the RTA to raise the sales tax by up to 0.5%. So the question really asks "do you want to allocate all of the money only to commuter rail?"

Someone casting a no vote could:

* Support a sales tax increase between 0.1% and 0.5%; AND

* Support spending most of the sales tax increase on commuter rail, but not all of it; OR

* Support spending a little of it on commuter rail, but most of it on increased bus service; OR

* Support spending all of the money on buses and none on commuter trains; OR

* Oppose any sales tax increase period.

Who is left to vote yes? Only voters who want to raise the sales tax the maximum legal amount and spend 100% of it on commuter rains and none on bus service or any other transit option.

If, as its supporters claim, they just want to let voters express their voice about commuter rail, a better question would have been, "Shall commuter rail from the City of Middleton to the Town of Burke be funded by any increase in the sales tax?"

But really, why not wait until a plan is proposed by the RTA and then we can all vote on a question that will actually man something?

Monona Transit Committee Meets September 8

The Monona Transit Committee meets next Wednesday, September 8 at 6 PM at City Hall

 
Here's the agenda.

Representatives from the RTA are expected to be on hand to talk and listen.

Date: Wed - 09/08/2010


Time: 6:00 PM


Location: Monona City Hall, 5211 Schluter Rd., Large Conference Room

Three Card Sunny

In this week's Herald Independent, our very own Sunny goes on about the RTA again. (Note that in these environs, Ms. S. is a big enough cheese to go by one name, like one of the those Brazilian futbal players.) I swear the anti-train people are as obsessed with trains as any foamer I ever met. To me, trains are just another way to move products and people.

Her column yesterday, left a number of questions in my mind. It reminded me of a game of three card monty wherein the goal of the purveyor is to distract (and then fleece) the sap who stops to watch.

Unless you take her suppositions, inferences, and arguments on faith (not advised), I guess her dear readers have to chase down each loose strand. Lucky for you, I'm taking a furlough today. [BEGIN ADDENDUM] I am adding this note to emphasize that Sunny is correct (pass the smelling salts for Sunny, please) on one point: If the RTA takes Metro's operations they will have to honor Metro's labor contracts per the state law (quoted below) that created the possibility of the RTA.   

Sunny doesn't like Madison Metro's overtime costs. She claims that Paul Soglin explained to her how the drivers cooperate with each other to get more overtime by manipulating the sick leave system. She claims the RTA will be stuck with Metro's labor contract if RTA takes over bus service within the region. She claims, as does alder Veserat, that the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) is a federal law that prevents employers from negating labor contracts (collective bargaining agreements) even if they make a dramatic change in their "business plan".

[Actually, I've only ever heard Mike ask, "But what about the FLSA!". The first time I heard this exclamation, I thought maybe he meant the FMLN, which was rather concerning if it meant that Salvadoran rebels had seized control of Madison Metro. He says it sort of like it's a rhetorical question and the listener should know what he means. Some discomfort follows.]

But, the FLSA is a federal wage and hour law that sets the minimum wage, requires overtime pay for some workers, and the like. It doesn't have anything to do with collective bargaining agreements. That would be the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act). My recollection is that employers actually can void labor contracts in some circumstances, not that I advocate such a course.

But, now I'm still thinking maybe Mike really means the FMLA (Family And Medical Leave Act). Here's Wisconsin's version.

STATE LAW: When I inquired this morning, Sunny sent me the section from the statute that created the RTA. It explicitly states that the RTA "shall assume all of the employer's obligations under any contract between the employees and management of the system to the extent allowed by law". Sec. 66.1039 (6) (a).

Sheesh, if she'd said that in The View, I could have read a book or something....

But, but, but....this report to the Madison City Council provides some interesting data. Madison Metro has successfully reduced overtime per driver by about 50% since 1998. And at mid-year, total OT hours had dropped 20% from 2009 to 2010. Metro and Mayor Cieslewicz recognize the problems and are attempting to resolve them. Also, the collective bargaining agreement expired January 1, 2010 and negotiations for a new one are ongoing.

So, we finally arrive at the proposed referendum before the Monona council. The proposed referendum does not ask whether the voters think commuter rail is a good idea, as former alder Dale Suslick's letter to the editor states.

Put in those terms, the proposed referendum really asks whether commuter rail is the only idea. The RTA can raise the sales tax by a maximum of a half-cent. The referendum asks if we want to spend all of it on a commuter train.

Here's the actual proposed question:

“Shall commuter rail from the City of Middleton to the Town of Burke be funded by a half-cent (0.5%) increase in the sales tax?"

If you wanted to know whether voters want commuter rail, you could just ask them that exact question:
Do you want commuter rail?
Or you could ask, Should the RTA spend any money on commuter rail?
Or, Should the RTA spend part of the sales tax on trains and part on buses?
Or, Should the RTA spend part of the sales tax on trains and part on buses and part on park and ride lots and part on bike paths?

Of course, it is hard to decide what the right question is, let alone the right answer, before the RTA produces its transit plan.


So, another real question is why do the political leaders who are pushing this referendum want to have a referendum before it is ready for decision?

If we had such a half-baked question brought before the council on any run-of-the-mill, non-political item, it would be tossed back to committee for further development.

***

 

Final question: Sunny's a big cheese, but what kind of cheese?

RTA's Draft principles for regional transit plan

Found on madison.com

Draft principles for regional transit plan


RTA Board Chairman Dick Wagner drafted the following 10 points as a starting point for creating a regional transit plan. A final version will eventually include detailed financial information.

1. Expand Transit to a truly regional service using existing providers and selected new providers where needed.

2. Provide financially secure base for existing transit service and remove present transit costs from property tax being paid by citizens of Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Shorewood Hills, Town of Madison, Monona, Sun Prairie, Stoughton and Dane County (within RTA for elderly and specialized services).

3. Elements of regional service in the future will include express bus service from many parts of the region for prime commute times and may include Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, Stoughton, Middleton, Verona, Cottage Grove, Waunakee and McFarland.

4. Elements of regional service will include park and ride lots to access express routes and park and ride lots to access other mid-region locations for transit to reduce core congestion trips yet riders can chain errands with their overall trip.

5. Elements of regional service will include improved elderly and specialized transit for the RTA area.

6. Elements of regional service may include new types of service to be determined by the RTA like Bus Rapid Transit and Commuter Rail as analysis of their feasibility continues.

7. Elements of regional service will include a comprehensive fare system permitting differential rates and easy transfers across providers.

8. Elements of regional service will include commitment to green technologies with expansion of bus service by hybrid vehicles and other green options as they are developed.

9. Elements of regional service may include as communities express interest in better intra-service connectivity like shared taxi service used by some communities (at present Stoughton and Sun Prairie) or local circulators combined with express service.

10. Elements of regional service will include participation in a multi-mode transit hub for the region to be developed to accommodate regular mainline bus connections, express bus connections, and possibly BRT buses and commuter rail with inter city bus and rail service.