Tampa CRA boards reallocate $700,000 to keep streetcar fare-free through fiscal year

Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency board members voted to transfer CRA funds from multiple districts to cover a roughly $700,000 shortfall and keep the city’s historic streetcar fare-free through the end of the current fiscal year.

Supporters said the fare-free policy has boosted ridership and taken vehicles off congested roads; opponents cautioned the arrangement is temporary and urged the city and outside beneficiaries to identify a sustainable funding plan. The board approved the transfer with one recorded no vote.

The board discussion and the CAC-level deliberations leading to the proposal centered on a funding gap Hanorg estimated at about $700,000. CRA staff presented a plan in which downtown, the Channel District and the two East Ybor (“EBOR”) CRA budgets would contribute partial shares to make up the shortfall for the remainder of the fiscal year. Courtney Orr, CRA development manager for the urban core, described a three-way split presented to the CACs and said the CACs endorsed reallocating their available funds to keep fares free until September.

“After the motion was made at the last meeting, we immediately started working with Justin and his team to figure out how we could make this work,” Orr said during the meeting. “We split that into thirds” to cover approximately $700,000 so fare-free service can continue while longer-term funding is considered.

Justin Willett, director of planning and scheduling at the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), told the board THA/Tampa HART expects the projected shortfall to come in under earlier estimates and that the $700,000 would be sufficient to bridge the gap through the fiscal year while planning continues.

Board members debated whether HART, the city or other outside entities that benefit from the streetcar — including hotels, the port, or tourism-related businesses — should share ongoing costs. Board member Viera said the service benefits a range of users and urged outreach to apartments, property owners and other beneficiaries; board member Miranda and others urged caution about committing ongoing CRA money without a long-term plan.

Brenda Thror, Ybor City CRA manager, clarified how the EBOR CRAs split their base contribution: EBOR 1’s base allocation is larger and EBOR 2 contributes a smaller share, producing the distribution reflected in the CAC recommendations. Specific CAC-recommended dollar allocations presented at the meeting included EBOR 1 contributing $188,000 and EBOR 2 contributing $37,000 toward the combined amount; the downtown and Channel District shares were presented in the packet and to their CACs as the remaining portions to reach the $700,000 total.

Board member Clint Clendenin moved to authorize the transfer of CRA funds from the four CRAs to cover the shortfall; board member Viera seconded. The board approved the transfer; one member recorded a dissenting vote. The board then approved a bundled set of consent approvals (items 10–18) that included related authorizations.

Members noted this is a stopgap measure: staff and board members said they will pursue longer-term funding solutions during the next budget cycle and through outreach to other public and private beneficiaries. Attorney and staff briefings during the meeting warned that state legislative proposals under consideration could limit CRA authority in future years, increasing pressure to identify sustainable funding sources outside the CRA tax increment.

The board asked staff to include the streetcar funding in next year’s budget deliberations and to pursue conversations with likely beneficiaries about how to share ongoing costs.

Ending: The fare-free policy will remain in effect through the current fiscal year under the CRA reallocation approved by the board; longer-term funding remains unresolved and will be the subject of staff work during upcoming budget and interagency planning efforts.