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Breaking News Bailout deal reached to save MTA doomesday cuts for 2009


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MTA Rescue Deal Reached in Albany

 

By TIM MINTON and JOHN P. WISE

 

Updated 8:20 PM EDT, Mon, May 4, 2009

 

NY Metro area Commuters got some great news Monday night.

 

Huge fare increases for millions of subway and bus riders will be canceled and service cuts eliminated, based on a deal announced tonight in Albany.

 

Democratic leadership of the New York State Senate announced there is a deal that will provide rescue money for the MTA.

Officals from Governor David Paterson and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will also agree to this plan.

 

A payroll tax increase will deliver the bulk of the $1.2 billion needed to close a budget gap for this year.

 

As part of the deal announced tonight, a taxi surcharge was reduced from $1 per ride to 50 cents, all of which will benefit the MTA.

 

In addition, school districts throughout the New York City region will receive a rebate to cancel out the effect of higher payroll taxes. That was a key demand of holdout senators who delayed a vote on the rescue package into this week.

 

A vote on the deal could come as soon as later tonight on the Senate floor. The MTA says riders and drivers can expect fare and toll hikes of roughly 10 percent -- down considerably from the projected 23 percent before the deal -- to take effect sometime in July.

 

The MTA plans to schedule an emergency board meeting for later this week to discuss what will happen next. This deal however does not address the estimated $1 Billion new defecit for fiscal year 2010-11.

 

c)2009 Associated Press and WNBC-TV, Inc.

 

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More details on the bailout plan from Channel 7/WABC-TV in NYC.

 

by Dave Evans, Jeff Pegues and Bob Monek, Eyewitness News (WABC-TV and AP News wire service)by Dave Evans, Jeff Pegues and Bob Monek, Eyewitness News-WABC-TV

 

ALBANY, N.Y. May 4, 2009-- The New York State Senate has reached a deal to avoid the MTA's doomsday budget.

The Senate's Democratic majority reached a tentative agreement with the 32 members needed to approve a bailout of New York City's transit system.

The bailout would avert double-digit fare increases and service cuts scheduled for next month.

 

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith met privately with key suburban senators in opposition into the evening Monday.

 

Concessions include special funding to school districts to exempt them from the payroll tax that would help fund the bailout.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson proposes the so-called bullet aid for schools as a way to get enough votes for a bailout before fare increases begin at the end of May.

 

Senators Brian Foley and Craig Johnson the last two holdouts, agreed to the funding bill, which gives Democrats enough support to get the bill passed.

As it stands right now, the biggest change in this funding bill is a lower taxi surcharge fee, which goes back to 50-cents. The fee is expected to raise $95 million a year, all of which would go to the MTA.

Other parts of the bill include:

 

A payroll tax of 34 cents per $100 of payroll for all counties except Putnam, Orange and Dutchess. Those counties would pay 25 cents. The payroll tax is expected to raise $1.49 billion a year.

 

Car registration fees would go up $25 which will raise $130 million a year.

 

A five percent sales tax hike on car rentals, raising $35 million a year.

 

 

 

He said the immediate goal is to close the MTA's budget gap to avoid major fare increases and service cuts, now just weeks away.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued against a short-term solution.

"There is no painless option, but the issues will be no simpler a few months from now than they are today, which is why Albany must find a permanent stream of funding for capital projects not next fall, but right now," he said.

A vote on the plan could come as early as Tuesday and expected to pass.

 

This bailout however does not cover another Budget shortfall for the MTA for 2010 and beyond.

 

 

 

(Copyright ©2009 WABC-TV/DT and Associated Press wire services. All Rights Reserved

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So, we pay because (MTA) can't manage its books?

 

I'm still mad. :mad::tdown:

 

- A

Exactly, they had a surplus and then went busy spending away and now look they coming to us for help yet again.
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So, we pay because (MTA) can't manage its books?

 

I'm still mad. :mad::tdown:

 

- A

 

 

 

Is it a deal? New York State Senate Democrats reach tentative agreement on MTA bailout

BY Glenn Blain In Albany and Pete Donohue In New York

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

 

Monday, May 4th 2009, 8:27 PM

 

 

Sky-high fare hikes and sweeping service cuts by the MTA planned to start on May 31 are now on verge of being derailed for now under a tentative deal announced by Senate Democrats in Albany Monday night.

This deal only would prevent massive cuts and fare hikes for this year.

 

 

State Sen. Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) emerged from a closed-door meeting Monday night saying he believes he has secured the final two Democratic votes necessary to pass an MTA bailout plan over a wall of Republican opposition.

 

"We think we do have a framework for coming to an agreement on a bill this week to bailout the MTA."," Smith said.

 

Senate leaders say the tentative deal should enable the MTA to scale back fare hikes to 8% instead of the doomsday 30%. That could mean a one-way cash fare will increase a quarter, to $2.25, instead of $2.50. A monthly metrocard would climb $7 to $88 instead of $103.

 

Smith made the declaration after meeting with Sen. Brian Foley and Craig Johnson, Long Island Democrats who had previously said they couldn't vote for a transit-funding package that included a payroll tax.

 

Johnson and Foley said they would vote for such a provision as long as legislation had language guaranteeing school districts would be protected.

 

Smith cautioned that the exact language still has to be worked out to reflect what Gov. Paterson proposed in terms of holding school districts harmless.

 

The "devil is in the details," he said.

 

Hoping to break a logjam, Paterson last week proposed increasing state funding to school districts to offset higher payroll tax bills they'd receive under the Senate bailout.

 

That prompted two Democratic senators from Westchester - Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Suzi Oppenheimer - to drop their opposition.

 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) has indicated he'd support the Senate plan - if Smith could get it through the Senate.

 

Senate Democrats have a razor-thin 32-30 majority and need every single vote to pass legislation without Republican assistance.

 

Confronted with ballooning budget deficits, the MTA has said it will have to raise fares by up to 30% - starting in the subways and buses - on May 31. Commuter train fares are set to rise the next day. More than 8 million daily riders would be affected.

 

(This is a developing story and this article could be revised at any time.)

 

 

 

c)2009 NY Daily News, Inc. pdonohue@nydailynews.com

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That is totally unacceptable.

 

I'm not paying 25 cents a pop more just because (MTA) cant run itself properly.

 

:mad::tdown:

 

- A

 

No offense Metsfan you live in Bucks County Pa why so upset? I should be the one mad as a car owner paying more to renew my fees ie license plate etc. Yes i use Metro North and the MTA when traveling to NYC's 5 boroughs. Living in the Hudson Valley the local buses dont run at all on Sundays and major holidays so having a car here is almost a must. However this is better than the doomesday cuts.

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no reactions? i am not taken serious on this board.

You posted this 11 minutes after the article. You're going to have to wait for at least an hour to get a significant number of replies.

 

That is totally unacceptable.

 

I'm not paying 25 cents a pop more just because (MTA) cant run itself properly.

 

:mad::tdown:

 

- A

Totally unacceptable? Where were you when they wanted to raise fares to $2.50 and $103, and cut service?

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Ill agree with Metsfan. Its great service wont be cut, but now we gotta pay 25 cents extra to get in the system??

 

They had a lot of money off the surplus a few yrs ago and they spent it on bs. I bet this increase will never end. (MTA) is just gonna keep raising the money every few yrs and spend the current money they have on bull.. I bet thats wat they like to do. Like do you think after this raise, its gonna be the end? $2.50 for ever?? I dont think so

 

I remembered when Green Line buses were like 75 cents during the weekends before it merged with the damn MTA Bus Company. Yes its not much of a benifit for the company but at least it satisfied the customers, I was very. Until the (MTA) came in the door and rained in the line...

 

edit btw video from fox5: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/090504_MTA_Fare_Hike_Talks

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So, I am happy that this has gone through to this point but, what will Long Island Bus fare go to? $3.25 or same $2.25?

I am wondering the same thing however I am mainly concerned about if they will continue to accept unlimited MC's on LIBus so like that I don't have to pay any extra just to ride LIBus. I am also wondering if the express bus fares are going down as well.

I am happy to hear about this. I am hoping Albany gives MTA plenty of money on a regular basis so like that MTA can have money to at least not have to go though this again

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Ill agree with Metsfan. Its great service wont be cut, but now we gotta pay 25 cents extra to get in the system??

 

They had a lot of money off the surplus a few yrs ago and they spent it on bs. I bet this increase will never end. (MTA) is just gonna keep raising the money every few yrs and spend the current money they have on bull.. I bet thats wat they like to do. Like do you think after this raise, its gonna be the end? $2.50 for ever?? I dont think so

 

 

Even with the times we are going through, it's almost imposable to save if you have a lot on your plate. You can't always predict what will happen down the road so it's better to take things 1 day @ a time.

However I do gotta admit that when the guy before Sander was running the MTA, I do think that he was trying to put the MTA into the gound by borrowing heavy amounts of money to fund the capital project's. So as a result, Sander now has to clean up the other person's trash for what the other person did a few years ago.

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