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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, November 01, 2010
Rail Runner Has Surplus
By Lloyd Jojola
Journal Staff Writer
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express ended last fiscal year with a $254,000 surplus, according to the final, unaudited budget numbers recently released by the Rio Metro Regional Transit District, which manages the train for the state.
"We're really happy where we ended up given the situation that we ran into during the year — the challenges of dealing with new gross receipts tax being down so much from our original, original projection," said Chris Blewett, Rio Metro director. "I think we did a good job of cutting expenses where we could and trying to keep the best service that we could out there at the same time."
Total revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, were $22,261,918, with total expenses of $22,007,437 for a surplus of $254,481, according to the budget balance sheet.
The majority of the commuter train system's fiscal 2010 operating revenue — $11.95 million — came from gross receipts tax money dedicated for regional mass transit, including the train. About 13 percent — $2.927 million — was generated at the farebox. The remainder of the revenue came from a combination of sources, including federal and state money and BNSF and Amtrak track-use money. About $643,000 in federal stimulus money was also allocated for Sunday service.
Early in the calendar year, around the middle of the fiscal 2010 year, the state shifted $750,000 in federal funds for the train and a weekend fare increase and Saturday service cuts were instituted to head off a then-projected budget shortfall. The budget was affected by less-than-expected gross receipts tax revenue tied to the weak economy.
"We had an original projection — when we originally put the budget together two years ago — of $14 million" in gross receipts tax being available for train system operations, Blewett said. "But even before the budget year started, we adjusted it (downward) to about $12 million."
And after several months of seeing the actual amount of GRT coming in after the voter-approved transit tax went into effect in July 2009, the projection was further reduced to about $11.7 million, which the final number ended up exceeding by about $200,000.
The train recorded 1.24 million passenger boardings during fiscal 2010.
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