SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- The San Francisco Municipal Railway has declared that it is facing a fiscal emergency that might force it to, among other actions, cut services and raise fares for commuters.

Muni General Manager Michael Burns announced at the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority's (MTA) Board of Directors meeting Tuesday night that strong measures must be taken in order to balance Muni's budget deficit of $9 to $15 million for the fiscal years of 2005 and 2006.

Burns blamed the fiscal emergency on San Francisco voters' failure to approve two tax measures in November. The budget for the fiscal year of 2005 had been approved expecting that those measures would pass, said Burns. A "fiscal emergency" means that the transit agency is projected to have negative working capital within a year.

To balance Muni's budget, Burns has proposed an increase in parking taxes, a parcel and gas tax, service reductions for some routes, an increase in parking fines, increased rates for parking meter and city garages, and ending the Muni Fast Pass for Bay Area Rapid Transit trains.

The proposed measures would bring the railway $29.5 to $81.1 million, said Burns.

The parking tax would increase by 10 percent a tax on San Francisco parking facilities, raising between $8 and $8.6 million for Muni, said Burns.

The parcel tax would charge San Francisco property owners $100 per parcel, reports Burns, but the revenues from that tax would not be able to be collected until 2007.

A $.01 per gallon gas tax would raise approximately $2 million but would not be ready to be implemented until spring of 2006, said Burns.

The new parking, parcel and gas taxes would not be approved until November of next year, said Burns, and would require at least two-thirds of voters' approval.

More immediate options for raising funds not requiring voter approval or state legislative authorization would be a reduction of services, a fare increase, an increase in parking fines and meter rates, and the discontinuation of Fast Pass on BART.

There are three options for the proposed fare increase, said Burns, depending on how much money the agency needed. The smallest fare increase would be 10 cents and would raise $7.7 million for the railway. The largest increase would raise the fare by 50 cents and bring in an estimated $25.8 million, reports Burns.

The last fare increase on Muni was 25 cents in September 2003. All fare increases would require the approval of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Another measure would be reducing Muni service on selected routes. The service reduction proposals range from a minor re-adjustment of routes during peak hours to discontinuing the 26 and 54 lines, said Burns. Reduction in salaries and overtime pay for Muni employees is another option, said Burns.

An increase in parking fines might generate as much as $2 million to $10 million annually for Muni but conversely, half of any increase would have to be shared with the MTA's general fund in accordance with the group's charter, said Burns. This is also a problem with the parking-tax increase.

Hourly rates for parking meters might be affected by the fiscal emergency. Burns proposed in the report that an increase in parking meter rates could generate $2 million to $4 million annually, and be ready for implementation within four months.

Burns also proposed that rates for city-run parking garages could be increased. Muni, which splits the revenues from the garages with the Department of Parking and Transportation and the Recreation and Parks Department, would receive an estimated $500,000 to $1.5 million.

Burn's said his proposal to cut BART service for Muni fast pass owners could save money, but could also end up costing Muni money in lost Fast Pass revenues.

Fast Pass owners are able to ride on BART for free within San Francisco city limits. The passes cost Muni $0.87 a ride in compensation for BART, totaling around $9 million per year. Burns hopes that in addition to saving money for Muni, commuters used to traveling on BART in the city would ride the cheaper Muni buses instead.

The final option for Muni would be to a levy an environmental-impact tax on all vehicles registered in San Francisco, said Burns. However, before that fee could levied the city would need to receive authorization from the state Legislature, as well as develop a model to assess environmental costs caused by locally registered vehicles.

The MTA Board is scheduled to begin deliberating the proposals at their Jan. 4 meeting, said Muni spokesman Alan Siegel.

(Copyright 2004, Bay City News. All rights reserved.)