Transportation Authority presents FY25-26 budget; Treasure Island EPA grant termination trims revenues

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority board on June 10 reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget and work program and held the public hearing required before final consideration at the board’s June 24 meeting. Lily Yu, finance manager for the authority, presented the budget and reported a termination notice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a $20,000,000 community-change grant awarded to the Treasure Island Mobility Management Program (TIMA).

The presentation said staff are recommending a $6,000,000 decrease in both revenues and expenditures in the FY25–26 budget “just a few days after we prepared our preliminary budget, we received a termination notice for our $20,000,000 community change grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Yu said. The board packet shows anticipated total revenues of $191,500,000, total expenditures of $242,200,000, and a projected need to borrow $110,000,000 from a revolving credit agreement with U.S. Bank; Yu said any future borrowing would be brought back to the board with proposed uses.

The board also discussed personnel and vacancy reporting required by state law; Yu said the FY25–26 budget reflects 44 full-time positions and that three specific positions (senior transportation modeler, a TIMA program manager, and a TIMA systems manager) remain vacant and are not included in the budget pending secured funding. She said the agency plans a comprehensive review of job descriptions, compensation and benefits this fiscal year to support recruitment and retention.

Earlier in the meeting, the Transportation Authority’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) chair, Kath Siegel, reported that the CAC voted to adopt the proposed FY25–26 budget and work program and highlighted members’ concerns about the authority’s exposure to federal grant risk after the EPA termination. The CAC also urged staff to reduce downtown-centric planning, improve north–south transit connections, and account for long-term operating costs when prioritizing capital projects. The CAC received an update on SFMTA’s Muni Metro core capacity planning study and expressed general support for maintenance and modernization efforts.

At the public-hearing portion of the item, resident Alita Dupree urged continued advocacy for transit funding and described federal high-speed rail as a long-term prospect; she said, “we need money for our Muni and our BART and all these other systems here.”

The board’s staff presentation made clear that the TIMA (Treasure Island Mobility Management Program) work program will be limited to activities supported by secured funding and that the TIMA budget will be subject to separate committee and board approvals. Yu said the revised TIMA work program will be considered by the TIMA Committee and board in June and limited to secured funding.

A motion to adopt the FY25–26 budget and work program was made (moved by Vice Chair Danny Sauter; seconded by Commissioner Joel Mandelmann). The transcript records the motion and the public hearing; the transcript does not contain a recorded roll-call vote on final adoption during this meeting. Final consideration and any formal vote on adoption are scheduled for the June 24 board meeting, after this public hearing.

Why it matters: the EPA grant termination reduces near-term revenue assumptions for a program serving Treasure Island projects and illustrates the authority’s sensitivity to federal grant decisions. The budget also contemplates a sizeable borrowing plan and a personnel review that could change future personnel costs.

What’s next: the board will take final action on the budget at its June 24 meeting. Staff said they will return to the board with any required budget amendments if additional grants are terminated or if secured funding changes.