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Hillsborough Area Regional Transit
| September/2010 |
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I'm
Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe and I am proud to serve my hometown
area as a HART Board member. After two decades of U.S. Navy service - including
eight years as an active-duty officer and 12 years in the U.S. Naval Reserves --
I chose to retire and focus my efforts on helping Hillsborough County prosper. I
have a bachelor's degree in Multinational Business from Florida State University
and a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the University of South Florida,
and my professional work includes having served as a teacher, development
officer for a private school, a government relations consultant, and member of
the County's Citizens Advisory Committee. I ran for the office of County
Commissioner to further dedicate myself to serving the residents of Hillsborough
County.
During my four-year tenure on
the HART Board, I have participated in strategic changes and witnessed many
successes occur at HART. The arrival of David Armijo, HART's CEO, was the
beginning of operational and fiscal improvements that have been pivotal to
HART's ability to withstand economic challenges, while increasing ridership,
enhancing services and maintaining its workforce without layoffs. The upcoming
sales tax referendum will support further transit improvements and innovation.
HART management and staff have proven their ability to manage and lead as
evidenced by the American Public Transportation Association 2010 recognition as
the best mid-size transit agency in the United States. The "Outstanding Public
Transportation Achievement Award" was earned by this dynamic agency after having
received a positive rating on its competitive, quantitative and qualitative
analysis.
I believe the sound fiscal
and operational management that HART has exhibited is the critical tool that
will strongly position HART to improve Hillsborough County's infrastructure in a
manner that helps solve transportation problems and enhances the quality of
life. I will continue to be a faithful steward of your tax monies while
continuing my commitment to help transform the local economy through
cost-affordable transportation solutions. Great opportunities are on the
horizon, and I am confident that HART's Rapid Transit Investment Plan is one
aspect that will help move Hillsborough County's
economic recovery forward.
Commissioner Mark Sharpe
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority
Member of the HART Board of Directors |
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Public Hearing: Alternatives Analysis - September 25th
Final 2011 Fiscal Year Budget Public Hearing - September 27
Public Hearing: Alternatives Analysis - September 30th
To see where HART
is at in the community
please visit:
Outreach Calendar
Transit Facts
The Dollars Add Up - Public
Transportation Works!
Every dollar communities
invest in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic
returns.
Every $10 million in capital
investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased
business sales.
Every $10 million in operating
investment yields $32 million in increased business sales.
Without public transportation,
congestion costs would be an additional $13.7 billion.
Every $1 billion invested in public
transportation capital and operation supports an average of 36,000 jobs.These
36,000 jobs result in roughly $3.6 billion in business sales and generate
nearly $500 million in federal, state, and local tax revenues.
*Source: PublicTransportation.org |
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| At The HART Of The Community |
Economic Impacts of HART's
Rapid Transit Investment Plan
Should Hillsborough County voters approve the transportation sales tax* on Nov.
2, HART is ready to expand and improve transit throughout the County. HART's
Rapid Transit Investment Plan (RTIP) is a part of the county-wide transportation
improvement strategy that will be implemented if the referendum passes. This is
a multi-modal plan that will create 495 miles of new transit service; introduce
new service modes, such as bus rapid transit and light rail; and vastly expand
neighborhood and express bus, and paratransit service.
Current HART Service:
Proposed HART Service (2035):
Initially, HART
will need more bus and paratransit operators, mechanics, maintenance
technicians, contractors, customer service staff, administrative support and
technology professionals to begin delivering the additional miles of new transit
service. HART has plans to double the more than 700 employees who make up its
current workforce. HART's construction projects overall will account for almost
25,000 jobs from 2011-2035. In summary, jobs generated from increased transit
service and construction projects, will account for 1,400 new or sustained jobs
per year, from 2011-2035.
More jobs will
greatly
benefit Hillsborough County, which has been hit hard by the economic downturn. In June, the Tampa Bay metropolitan area was ranked as the fifth worst among
major metropolitan areas in unemployment by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
Beyond the
building of the actual rail lines, an efficient transit system valued as one of
Hillsborough County's greatest assets will help make this area a competitive and
more viable option for corporations looking to relocate and bring thousands of
jobs with them. Public transportation plays a role in attracting workers by
contributing to several factors that influence where workers choose to live,
including quality of life, costs of living, mobility options, and access to
amenities. Increasingly, college graduates and skilled workers are seeking
communities that are attractive, transit-accessible and sensitive to the
environment.
In Charlotte,
N.C., a community comparable to Tampa, the Blue Line light rail corridor on the
LYNX rail service has brought in an estimated $3 billion in new development
along the line in Charlotte's South End and Uptown Districts. A similar story
happened in Phoenix with its METRO light rail line. The economic benefits were
seen even before ground broke on the line, with an estimated $7.4 billion in
total investment since 2001.
HART's transit system
expansion is expected to generate an estimated $3.4 billion in economic growth
for Hillsborough County from 2011-2035 through increased jobs, tourism,
affordable mobility, etc. The benefits of the RTIP go beyond doubling the bus
service throughout the county, expanding Flex service and implementing bus rapid
transit and light rail. The financial benefits are just part of what a
transportation transformation could do to keep Hillsborough County on track to
the future.
Source: Economic Impacts of HART July 2010 available
at:
http://gohart.org/whytransit/economic_impact_of_hart_final_july_2010.pdf
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| HART On The Move |
Financing the Future
David Persaud, HART Director of Finance
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As
HART's Director of Finance, I have had the privilege of leading fiscal
changes
and improvements over the last few years. My entire career has been dedicated to
financial management, and I am honored to promote success at HART by identifying
strategies that have helped save jobs and increase services. Since 2006, HART
has lost almost $10 million in Ad Valorem taxes (a significant revenue source)
due to legislative changes to Florida's property taxes. With responsible
financial management strategies, HART continues to operate efficiently without
disrupting transit delivery service. This is accomplished by reallocating
resources and streamlining service.
The
Finance Department reviews the annual budget process and expenditure requests
very thoroughly and recommends funding levels that are effective and
efficient. This process allows HART to operate at a high level of efficiency. In
addition, the proficient internal operations of HART's Finance Department allows
the timely processing of payments, thereby enabling prompt-payment discounts
that result in a savings to HART. In terms of treasury management, HART has a
structured investment process using zero balance
accounts whereby all idle cash is invested daily to increase return on
investments at the highest level.
The Finance Department is continually
seeking ways to improve and operate more efficiently. By controlling use
of overtime, FMLA leave time, and scheduling service efficiently, savings
of more than $1 million was realized and redirected back into HART's transit
services. Additionally, HART has made vast improvements by introducing a
streamlined fare structure in conjunction with fare change in 2008. From Fiscal
Years 2007 to 2009, actual fare recovery improved from 19.81 percent to 21.57
percent and continues to trend up in 2010. Other Finance milestones include: 10
years of clean financial audits from independent external auditors; receipt of
the Government Finance Officers' Association Distinguished Budget Presentation
Award for our Fiscal Year 2008 and 2009 budgets; fund recording with 99.5
percent error-free margin; and receipt of the Government Finance Officers'
Association Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for our fiscal year
2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. As a
public agency, we, at HART, take great pride in fiscal management and
accountability. We will continue to work to identify effective fiscal management
strategies that ensure HART continues to provide the highest quality of services
to our Tampa Bay communities.
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| To The HART Of The Matter | What HART Means To Me
Joe Smith shares his HART transit story...
For
many years, I have been a "Champion of Transit" and advocated for the
expansion of HART's services throughout Hillsborough
County, particularly in South Hillsborough. I can personally attest to the fiscal
management and improvements occurring at HART, thanks to the hard work and
leadership of David Armijo. Mr. Armijo committed to extend service to South
County by initiating "Flex-Service" in Sun City Center, with promises
to extend West on State Route 674 if the upcoming referendum is successful.
For
the first time in the 25 years I have lived here, SouthShore, Eastern
Hillsborough, Sun City Center/Kings Pointe, and Apollo Beach
have seen true delivery on promises made for transit services. Service
improvements and expansions throughout Hillsborough County
continue, but the introduction of paratransit service, which several of my
acquaintances and I rely upon, have been very proficient. Mr. Armijo has
ensured that sensitivity to our disabled population is present throughout the
fleet. As we look to the future of Hillsborough
County transit needs, I
am confident that Mr. Armijo and his wonderful staff have the leadership,
vision, and fiscal management necessary to continue to provide the highest
quality of transit services to the community.
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HART is dedicated to providing excellent customer service while building solutions to support Hillsborough County's needs.....now and into the future.
HARTinfo Line: (813)
254-4278
TDD (813) 626-9158 HARTplus: (813) 254-4278
www.goHART.org
HART's website receives over 7.8 million hits
per month! Use our website with ease to plan your
bus trips with Google Transit Map Trip Planner. Also, don't forget to visit us at our
new
Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts for exciting,
up-to-date information on HART.
For more information, contact Marcia Mejia at (813) 449-4707 or MejiaM@goHART.org
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