Crains New York - November 12, 2012 - (Page 11)

CAROL KELLERMANN T Sandy underscores MTA funding needs and tunnels falls short of yielding a fair share from tolls.Absent new initiatives such as tolling the cityowned East River bridges, the price for MTA facilities should be higher. ● Transit fares should yield a revenue increase greater than 7.5%. Operating he silver lining in the clouds of Hurricane Sandy is that the region got a glimpse of what life would be like without a well-developed and smoothly functioning mass-transit system.That unpleasant experience should put a new and more positive light on discussions about how to finance the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the immediate issue of how to raise toll and fare revenue in 2013. The picture of daily commutes with a crippled MTA was not a pretty one. Drivers and straphangers alike share big stakes in a reliable transit system. But that system is jeopardized by more than Mother Nature. The MTA faces operating deficits and insufficient funding for currently identified capital needs, which do not include measures to prevent future catastrophes from the next hurricane.The simple truth is that even with enhanced efficiencies, the MTA needs more money. The Citizens Budget Commission calls for funding operating and capital expenses from three sources—fares, taxes and crosssubsidies from motor-vehicle users—in proportions of 50%-25%25%, respectively.That is a fair sharing of the burden among all who benefit, and it contrasts with the current mix in which fares (at 42%) and auto cross-subsidies (at 13%) each fall short, leaving the MTA with deficits and a dependency on unsustainable borrowing. These guidelines have clear implications for the proposals that are now the subject of MTA board hearings. All the proposals would increase fare and toll revenue by 7.5% annually, with the options relating to the mix of changes in single-ride versus volume-discounted fares. But the changes need to be bolder: ● Toll increases should be larger. A 50-cent hike for the major bridges costs are going up due to higher fringe-benefit costs for workers as well as rising energy costs. The proposed fares would still leave deficits and cover less than half the cost of a ride. The added burden should not be spread evenly. Tourists who take a single ride should pay more than regular commuters,and those on the commuter railroads, notably the LIRR, who are being subsidized for much more than half the cost of their rides should face greater increases than straphangers. fare hike. The MTA’s financial plan calls for a similar-size increase in 2015, and others will follow. The current options should specify planned fares in 2015. Predictability is needed for the system’s revenue and its passengers’ wallets. The region’s experience with Sandy has been painful. To avoid equivalent man-made disasters due to the neglect of our transit system, we should all be willing to bear a modest fiscal discomfort and pay our fair shares. ● Fare decisions should be made on a multiyear basis. This is not the last Carol Kellermann is president of the Citizens Budget Commission. E A crisis manager for the next mayor very four years, the first Tuesday in November brings not only the election of a president, but the beginning of the New York City mayoral campaign. Not this year, thanks to Superstorm Sandy. The hurricane may have shaken up the 2013 mayoral race as much as it has disrupted normal life in New York. Begin by answering this question. How often have you seen or heard Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio, Comptroller John Liu, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer or former Comptroller Bill Thompson recently? As for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, she has been much in evidence in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s many storm briefings. She’s been just behind his left shoulder like a prop, and doesn’t that say something? The obvious comparison is with Sept. 11. Virtually every student of politics in New York says Mr. Bloomberg won only because the terrorist attacks rekindled voters’ interest in strong and decisive leaders. The citizens did not think Democratic nominee Mark Green fit the bill. In fact, voters were uneasy well before Sept. 11. A focus group the Bloomberg campaign held in December 2000 showed voters wanted a good manager as mayor, a fiscal conservative and someone they could GREG DAVID trust to keep reducing crime, as long as that person was less abrasive than Rudy Giuliani. The focus group also found that the billionaire businessman was almost as well known as the Democratic candidates. Only the insiders know what their focus groups are showing today, but a good guess would be that the situation is similar and that concern for the city’s future has been heightened by the storm. Against that backdrop, ask yourself another question: Will each Democratic candidate be able to convince voters that she or he would have done a better job of dealing with Sandy’s destruction? One person New Yorkers would have confidence in is Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota, who has shown what a good manager does in a crisis. He is clearly fiscally conservative, knows city government inside and out from his days as Rudy’s first deputy mayor, and appears eerily calm in a crisis (although he has been known to lose his temper in public at other times). Mr. Lhota’s path for a mayoral candidacy begins and ends with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He’s the governor’s man now. If Mr. Cuomo cares about the competence of the next mayor and if he’d like a devoted ally at City Hall,Mr.Lhota fits the bill.The governor’s support for an independent candidacy would be very powerful. Maybe the impact of and obsession with Sandy will fade in the next few weeks and the mayoral race will return to a debate about how much to raise taxes on the wealthy,how to impose the living-wage mandate, how many sick days businesses should be required to provide, and how to set aside more contracts for minorityand women-owned companies. If not, expect print and TV media to begin more critical coverage of the Democrats and build up the Lhota legend. November 12, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 11 http://crainsnewyork.com/40under40 http://crainsnewyork.com/events-bestplaces2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - November 12, 2012

THE INSIDER
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: HEALTH CARE
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
SMALL BUSINESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - November 12, 2012