Funding Cuts Delay Maple Grove Transit Project

In response to a $52 million dollar budget shortfall, the Met Council has cut funding to several cities, including Maple Grove.

The Metropolitan Council dipped into the Maple Grove's transit reserve fund taking $4.2 million away, making it the largest amount removed from any city.

“No one is happy about having to take reductions,” Met Council’s Deputy Regional Administrator Wes Kooistra said. “However, we wanted to handle our budget shortfall without reducing services and without raising fares and reducing reserve amounts from several cities will help us accomplish this.”

According to Maple Grove Transit Administrator Mike Opatz, the reduction in funds will delay the expansion of the Parkway Transit Station located near . The expansion was going to add a parking structure that would double the amount of cars that could fit at the station, taking it from 500 stalls to 1,000 stalls. The addition was slated for 2015, but after the budget cuts, it will be pushed back to 2017.

The city has seen a surge in ridership, up about eight percent from 2010. Opatz predicts the city will provide 800,000 rides in 2011.

At a recent City Council meeting Mayor Mark Steffenson talked about the budget cuts saying, “The cuts will affect our program and I think it’s important that the public know about these cuts,” he said. “It’s my suggestion that the Met Council run their program more like ours and they wouldn’t have such a budget shortfall.”

Kooistra says Maple Grove had the highest reserve fund in the region, operating at a 200 percent reserve level. The Met Council believes an eight percent reserve level is sufficient and therefore has no plans on replacing the reserve money taken from the city.

“The city’s reserve fund is still quite high even after the reduction,” Kooistra said.

City officials say the reserve level is high simply because they were responsible with the money given to them.

“Maple Grove recognizes the overall transit funding challenges facing the entire region,” Opatz said. “However, Maple Grove Transit is recognized as operating some of the most efficient and productive express bus services in the region. We have made wise funding and operational decisions over the years to ensure the city has been good stewards of public funds.”

Of the $52 million budget gap, $6.7 million came from the transit reserve funds of individual cities. The Met Council closed the rest of the budget gap by making administrative reductions through attrition and shuffling other internal funds.

Editor's note: Should the Met Council replace the $4.2 million reserve money taken from Maple Grove? Share your thoughts on the issue in comments.