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Indigo presents fiscal sustainability study update as agency plans revenue and cost options
Summary
Indigo staff updated the board on a fiscal sustainability study that will model revenue and expense scenarios, benchmark peers, and propose measurable actions to maintain transit services amid constrained funding options.
Indigo staff provided an update on a fiscal sustainability study intended to identify options for revenue growth, cost efficiencies and capital reinvestment strategies to sustain service delivery.
Chief Development Officer Brooke Thomas described the study as a pivotal effort to address long-term fiscal pressures and to align with Indigo’s recently updated strategic plan. Thomas said agency options to increase operational revenue are limited largely to existing streams—local income tax, fare revenue, sponsorships and advertising—and that the agency will focus both on revenue opportunities and on how it allocates existing resources.
Thomas outlined the study’s planned approach: agency stakeholder interviews, internal working groups, peer research and benchmarking, and development of financial modeling tools to test assumptions and tradeoffs. She said the study will examine service productivity, farebox recovery, staffing and maintenance cost trajectories, and capital reinvestment timing for assets such as BRT station components and vehicles approaching end of useful life.
Staff noted that some discretionary underspending in recent years will reverse as the agency staffs up to deliver the Marion County Transit Plan. The study will evaluate scenarios for adjusting service levels and contracting approaches, consider capital replacement timing versus maintenance tradeoffs, and produce an actionable plan with measurable milestones and reporting to the board.
Thomas said the goal is to emerge with a resilient plan that allows Indigo to fulfill voter‑approved commitments while avoiding future financial crises. The board thanked staff and consultants for the all‑agency approach and asked staff to continue reporting on modeling results and proposed actions as the study progresses.
