The District does not have the $50 million that it pledged for Metro as part of a joint effort to give the cash-strapped transit agency dedicated funding, even as local leaders are pushing Congress for more federal money in the wake of the worst crash in the system’s 33-year history.
Mayor Adrian Fenty removed the budget item approved in November, according to a council report. Council sources said it was redirected to pay for other items.
Now the region faces a renewed push to give Metro more money after the deadly June 22 crash that killed nine and injured more than 70 people. The transit agency has said it doesn’t have enough money to replace the type of rail cars involved in the crash that federal investigators have said are not “crashworthy.”
But if the District is forced to pay its $50 million share, the council warns that the city could face an even larger budget gap than the already $340 million shortfall it faces over the next two years.
Fenty spokeswoman Mafara Hobson said the mayor is committed to providing the city’s share of the funding, despite having taken the money from the D.C. budget. She provided no details on how the city would pay its part.
Metro Chairman Jim Graham, who also serves on the D.C. Council, did not respond for comment.
The funding push isn’t entirely new for Metro. For years, local leaders have been trying to find a way to give dedicated funding to the transit agency that currently must ask jurisdictions each year for subsidies to fund its more than $2 billion annual budget. Other transit agencies receive money from taxes or fees each year.
Last year, Congress authorized $150 million a year for 10 years as long as Virginia, Maryland and the District each kicked in $50 million a piece to the transit agency.
President Barack Obama did not include the federal share in his budget proposal but congressional leaders could still add it to an appropriations bill. Since the deadly crash, the local congressional delegation has renewed the push for Congress to add the $150 million to the budget.
Staff Writer Michael Neibauer contributed.
