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RICHLAND -- Ben Franklin Transit may have to cut jobs and services to survive tough financial times ahead, even as it spends millions to build new headquarters.
And as a result, BFT may have to deal with complaints about service, disgruntled employees and challenges to the agency's decision to make capital investments during a recession, general manager Tim Fredrickson wrote in a memo he'll present to the transit board today as members discuss long-term planning.
The discussion, which is part of the board's annual retreat, is open to the public and begins at 9 a.m. at the Three Rivers Transit Center in Kennewick.
Fredrickson said the transit agency is working to improve fare collections and to nurse its rainy day fund back to health.
The agency's share of sales tax revenue increased 4.3 percent to about $1.75 million in January, compared with a year ago when it stood at about $1.68 million, Fredrickson said.
He said he hopes the uptick continues but "we have to be very careful and cautious about this."
Ben Franklin will have to make a tough choice whether to use federal money that it receives for day to day operations to avoid cutting services rather than to replace aging vehicles, Fredrickson said.
Last year, BFT diverted $280,000 from a federal grant meant for upgrading its Richland headquarters to help pay for daily operations, he said.
The headquarters modernization project is under way, however, thanks to $9.32 million in federal and local money the agency got for its long-standing request to improve its more than 25-year-old facility.
But that project, which started in September, has upset many in the community, including Stacey Struthers of Kennewick.
Transit doesn't need a new building, he said. Getting newer buses is more important, said Struthers, whose wife Carolyn until recently was a transit bus driver. She was forced out after 27 years on the job, he said.
If there's a national economic downturn, Struthers asked why BFT has avoided cutting management staff. He also alleged that transit supervisors use official vehicles to commute from home and back, and that "taxpayers are paying for their fuel."
Christy Watts, transit's marketing and customer service supervisor, said the agency may not have laid off any management staff, but it hasn't replaced most retirees or those who quit.
She said an operations supervisor, a Dial-A-Ride coordinator, an accounting supervisor, a transit planner and numerous other administrative employees haven't been hired to save money.
She also said transit supervisors do drive transit vehicles home, but it's because they are on call to respond to emergencies. And gas for those vehicles is filled at regular gas stations, Watts said, which means BFT pays state and federal taxes on gas for those vehicles.
Fredrickson said the headquarters modernization project is necessary for future needs.
The $5 million construction project includes a new 18,000-square-foot administrative headquarters, an addition to the west end of the maintenance area and remodeling the old building, said Mike Sisemore, project superintendent for Kennewick-based contractor G2 Construction.
The project was delayed by some ground water issues, Fredrickson said, but he's happy with progress. The new building is expected to be completed in June, the maintenance bays in August and the remodeling in October.
-- Pratik Joshi: 509-582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com; Business Beat blog at www.tricityherald.com
