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BART budget keeps fares, not jobs
Oakland Tribune, Apr 10, 2004 by Sean Holstege, STAFF WRITER
BART says it can close its $42 million budget shortfall without raising fares or cutting service, but the plan calls for shaving 143 jobs.
Workers say BART has trimmed so many positions already that it's getting dangerous for employees and passengers.
To balance its $477 million operating budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, BART plans to lay off 54 employees -- expected to come disproportionately from the ranks of janitors, mechanics and other front-line workers. An additional 89 jobs would be eliminated through attrition and early retirements.
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"One of the biggest deterrents to terrorism is high visibility, but they are cutting the front-line staff," said Service Employees International Union Local 790 President Roxanne Sanchez. "As a rider, they're exposing me not just to terror, but disease."
A groundskeeper spotted a suspicious device in the ivy at San Leandro Station last month. That led to the Alameda County Bomb Squad detonating the device, which resembled those used in the recent deadly explosions on trains in Spain.
BART has closed its restrooms and removed its garbage cans from underground stations because they are considered attractive to terrorists. Sanchez reported that on one recent morning shift, a janitor picked up human feces in three parts of the busy 12th Street Oakland Station in two hours.
BART spokesman Mike Healy said any claims of weakening safety standards are poppycock.
"We would never do anything that would render the system unsafe," Healy said. "All employees and the riders are being asked to be alert. That claim doesn't quite wash."
Instead, BART is counting on efficiencies to balance its budget without disrupting service. That means spending less on machine maintenance and investing other funds for new equipment. It means dipping into reserves and running shorter trains when there are fewer passengers. In recent weeks, BART managers have conceded it will probably mean dirtier trains and stations.
Healy said each department was urged to cut 5 percent from its budget as an overall belt-tightening move, contrary to union complaints that BART is a top-heavy bureaucracy.
BART spends $68 million a year, or 14 percent of its budget, on overhead -- everything from outside consultants and equipment rentals to telephones and supplies. BART also allocates $60 million for debt repayment, but managers have said spiraling health care costs and retirement benefits are the biggest contributor to BART's deficit.
Unions say the projections are overly pessimistic, and BART's mantra of doing more with less -- described by auditors as "aggressive job cuts" -- is dangerous.
Last month, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited BART with six safety violations, five of them serious. The state issued $21,505 in fines, records show.
BART is appealing the ruling. Union representatives say the citation stems from a change in policy that has maintenance teams working near the high-voltage third rail without it being grounded or shielded. The workers, some of them with high-pressure water hoses, are protected by remotely shutting off power and backup power from a central computer instead.
The BART Board of Directors will debate a detailed budget plan April 22 and is scheduled to adopt it May 27.
Contact Sean Holstege
at papers.com">sholstege@angnews-
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