Meeting_Body
FINANCE, BUDGET, AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
JUNE 16, 2021
Subject
SUBJECT: TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT ACT (TDA) ARTICLE 8 FUND PROGRAM
Action
ACTION: ADOPT FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOLUTION FOR FY 2021-22 (FY22) TDA ARTICLE 8 UNMET TRANSIT NEEDS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
ADOPT:
A. Findings and Recommendations (Attachment A) for allocating FY22 Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 8 funds estimated at $29,346,452 as follows:
1. In the City of Avalon there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet, therefore TDA Article 8 funds (Attachment B) in the amount of $169,483 may be used for street and road projects, or transit projects, as described in Attachment A;
2. In the Cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet; in the Cities of Lancaster and Palmdale and the unincorporated portions of North County transit needs can be met through using other existing funding sources. Therefore, the TDA Article 8 funds in the amount of $6,975,098 and $6,761,056 (Lancaster and Palmdale, respectively) may be used for street and road purposes and/or transit, as long as their transit needs continue to be met;
3. In the City of Santa Clarita, there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet; in the City of Santa Clarita, and the unincorporated portions of the Santa Clarita Valley, existing transit needs can be met through the recommended actions using other funding sources. Therefore, TDA Article 8 funds in the amount of $9,573,328 for the City of Santa Clarita may be used for street and road and/or transit, as long as their transit needs continue to be met;
4. In the Los Angeles County Unincorporated areas of North County, the areas encompassing both the Antelope Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley, transit needs are met with other funding sources, such as Proposition A and Proposition C Local Return. Therefore, TDA Article 8 funds in the amount of $5,867,487 may be used for street and road purposes and/or transit, as long as their transit needs continue to be met; and
B. A resolution (Attachment C) making a determination of unmet public transportation needs in the areas of Los Angeles County outside the Metro service area.
Issue
ISSUE
State law requires that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) make findings regarding unmet transit needs in areas outside Metro’s service area. If there are unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet, then these needs must be met before TDA Article 8 funds may be allocated for street and road purposes.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Under the State of California TDA Article 8 statute, state transportation funds are allocated to the portions of Los Angeles County outside Metro’s service area. These funds are for “unmet transit needs that may be reasonable to meet”. However, if no such needs exist, the funds can be spent for street and road purposes. See Attachment D for a brief summary of the history of TDA Article 8 and definitions of unmet transit needs.
Before allocating TDA Article 8 funds, the Act requires Metro to conduct a public hearing process (Attachment E). If there are determinations that there are unmet transit needs, which are reasonable to meet and we adopt such a finding, then these needs must be met before TDA Article 8 funds can be used for street and road purposes. By law, we must adopt a resolution annually that states our findings regarding unmet transit needs. Attachment C is the FY22 resolution. The proposed findings and recommendations are based on public testimony (Attachment F) and the recommendations of the Social Service Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC) and the Hearing Board.
Policy_Implication
POLICY IMPLICATION
Staff has followed state law in conducting public hearings and obtaining input from the SSTAC regarding unmet transit needs. The SSTAC is comprised of social service providers and other interested parties in the North County areas. Attachment G summarizes the recommendations made and actions taken during FY 2019-20 (for the FY 2021-22 allocation estimates) and Attachment H is the proposed recommendations of the FY22 SSTAC.
On April 15, 2021, the TDA Article 8 Hearing Board was convened on behalf of the Board of Directors to conduct the required public hearing process. The Hearing Board developed findings and made recommendations for using TDA Article 8 funds based on the input from the SSTAC and the public hearing process.
Upon transmittal of the Board-adopted findings and documentation of the hearings process to Caltrans Headquarters, and upon Caltrans approval, funds will be released for allocation to the eligible jurisdictions. Delay in adopting the findings, recommendations and the resolution contained in Attachments A and C would delay the allocation of $29,346,452 in TDA Article 8 funds to the recipient local jurisdictions.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of this project will have no impact on Safety.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The TDA Article 8 funds for FY22 are estimated at $29,346,452 (Attachment B). The funding for this action is included in the FY22 Proposed Budget in cost center 0443, project number 410059 TDA Subsides - Article 8.
TDA Article 8 funds are state sales tax revenues that state law designates for use by Los Angeles County local jurisdictions outside of Metro’s service area. Metro allocates TDA Article 8 funds based on population and disburse them monthly, once each jurisdiction’s claim form is received, reviewed and approved.
Implementation of Strategic Plan Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Recommendation supports strategic plan goals 2 and 4. Per state requirement, the TDA funds are allotted to the municipal and Tier II operators to support the operation of their services countywide. Also, under this project Metro function as the regional transportation planning agency was reviewed. The findings will assist in achieving Metro’s Strategic Plan Goals number 2 and 4 by improving mobility, ease of travel and safety.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board of Directors could adopt findings or conditions other than those developed in consultation with the Hearing Board, with input from the state-required SSTAC (Attachment H) and through the public hearing process. However, this is not recommended because adopting the proposed findings and recommendations made by the SSTAC and adopted by the Hearing Board have been developed through a public hearing process, as described in Attachment E, and in accordance with the TDA statutory requirements.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Caltrans’ review and approval of the Board-adopted resolution and documentation of the hearing process, we will receive TDA Article 8 funds to allocate to the recipient local jurisdictions.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
A. FY22 Proposed Findings and Recommended Actions
B. TDA Article 8 Apportionments: Estimates for FY22
C. FY22 TDA Article 8 Resolution
D. History of TDA Article 8 and Definitions of Unmet Transit Needs
E. TDA Article 8 Public Hearing Process
F. FY22 Comment Summary Sheet - TDA Article 8 Unmet Transit Needs Public Testimony and Written Comments
G. Summary of Recommendations and Actions Taken
H. Proposed Recommendations of the FY22 SSTAC
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Drew Phillips, Deputy Executive Officer, Budget (213)-922-2109
Armineh Saint, Director, Budget (213) 922-2369
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Nalini Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer, (213) 922-3088
