Manager says ‘everything is on the chopping block potentially’; budget could plummet from $54 million to $14 million; all manager and supervisor salaries frozen

By Damian Mann for the Rogue Valley Times

Rogue Valley Transportation District might eliminate two-thirds of its 15 bus routes and lay off up to 82 employees because of a freeze in federal funds.

“Everything is on the chopping block potentially,” said Julie Brown, RVTD manager. “We need to figure out what is the basic service we need to supply. We can’t stop transit in this community, it’s too important.”

Brown said there is already much speculation and panic in the community about which routes might be cut. Many low-income workers and others in the valley rely on RVTD to get them to work or school, including Harry & David, Southern Oregon University and school districts.

RVTD plans to hold community outreach sessions to gauge which routes are the most essential.

“The bottom line is we haven’t made a decision,” Brown said.

RVTD has seen financial warning signs because ODOT wasn’t able to sign an agreement with the Federal Transportation Administration because it would violate state sanctuary laws. Oregon has joined other states that have sued the Trump administration over withholding federal funds for sanctuary states, which stop state and local law enforcement from helping federal agencies with immigration enforcement.

RVTD, which relies on federal dollars, could see its current budget, which receives substantial support from state and federal government, reduced from $54 million to $14 million.

A transportation bill working its way through the Legislature or the potential freeing up of the federal dollars by the middle of summer could help ease RVTD’s financial woes.

Brown said some employees who might be laid off could be rehired if the budget picture improves. She said the transportation bill, if passed, wouldn’t make funds available until next year and could potentially only provide limited financial help.

Other factors are at play that have hurt RVTD’s bottom line. Inflation has increased the cost of everything, from fuel to the replacing of vehicles. Health care costs have escalated drastically.

“It’s out of control,” she said. “Everybody needs it, but we can’t afford it.”

Brown said RVTD plans to be proactive in dealing with the crisis. All management and supervisory salaries, including Brown’s, have been frozen, and the union workers contract will be part of a bargaining session next year, Brown said.

Other than routes, RVTD might have to cut Saturday service and run buses less frequently and for shortened periods during the day. Brown said her staff have been drawing up various plans over the past two weeks to scale back service, though nothing has been decided.

RVTD had gone through a similar crisis in 1997, when it had seven routes, which had to be cut back to two. The two remaining were Route 10, from Medford to Ashland, and Route 60, from White City to Medford.

“We went deep and cut service,” Brown said. While no routes have been cut yet, she said RVTD would be looking at routes with low ridership, such as the relatively new Route 17 in Ashland, which was funded by a grant.

“That route may have to be cut,” she said.

Bill Mansfield, an RVTD board member and a Medford lawyer who has taught a course on law at Southern Oregon University, said, “We’re sitting on tenterhooks waiting for what comes next.”

Mansfield has been on the board 18 years but was one of the founding members from 1976 into the 1980s. He said the board will rely on the expertise of RVTD staff to provide direction about where cuts should be made.

“Without the federal assistance, if that doesn’t change, we will have to dump 82 people by the end of September,” he said.

The service RVTD provides is invaluable to the community, providing a way for people to get to work, go to school and church, Mansfield said.

“All the important things in life,” he said. “The hard part is cutting down our service.”

Despite the dire situation, Mansfield said he supports the state’s sanctuary laws and opposes the federal government’s threats.

“They’re trying to intimidate us with their nasty immigration policy,” he said. “I consider the government to be the enemy.”

Even though RVTD faces tough times, Mansfield said, “We believe we will survive. We won’t be doing as good a job but doing the best we can.”

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected]. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.