The Capital Area Transit System Board of Commissioners will vote Tuesday on the system’s proposed $30.2 million budget for 2016 after the suggested spending plan and several key contracts were recommended for approval by the finance and executive committee at its meeting today.
The contracts recommended for approval include a $150,680 construction contract with The Luster Group to build 20 new bus shelters along Florida Street, Plank Road and Scenic Highway. The committee also green-lighted a $226,512 contract for the Weiser Security Company to provide two security guards 24 hours a day at the CATS main office and bus terminal on Florida Boulevard and the company’s satellite office down the street at 5700 Florida Blvd.
CATS spokeswoman Amie McNaylor says Baton Rouge police already provide security at the headquarters and bus terminal for most of the day, and the contract with the security company will provide an added layer of security during those few hours when Baton Rouge police are not there.
The committee also recommended that the full board ratify the two-year contract with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1546 that includes increased wages, changes in overtime and a standardized paid time-off schedule for some 200 CATS employees.
In the proposed 2016 budget, CATS administrators project to bring in more than $30.2 million in revenue for 2016, which is a 10.6% increase from $27 million in 2015. The $30.2 million includes $16.3 million from the dedicated property tax for the agency, as well as $9 million from federal subsidies and $1.76 million from bus fares.
McNaylor says the projected fare revenue increased over the $1.65 million the fares generated this year because ridership has increased since the expanded services were implemented. CATS expects ridership to continue to increase, she adds.
On the other side of the ledger, CATS is projecting $30.2 million in expenses. Of that, $14.2 million will go toward operating costs, $5.8 million will be put toward maintenance and $2.5 million is marked for capital expenditures. That includes money for replacing a total of 18 buses and para-transit vans, new bus lifts, shelters, transit software, bus restoration projects and transit center renovations. CATS also plans to set aside money to buy five used buses if the agency finds some available for a good deal, but McNaylor says nothing is set in stone.
The budget also notes that CATS administrators expect to add 46 bus operators, mechanics, customer service reps and facilities personnel throughout 2016.
“We need the bodies,” McNaylor says.
The full board meets at 4:30 p.m. in the commission room inside BREC’s Administration Building at 6201 Florida Blvd., to take up the committee recommendations approved today.
—Ryan Broussard
