The Tempe City Council discussed the ongoing budget crisis and proposed bus route changes at the latest council meeting.
During the issue-review session on Thursday night, City Manager Charlie Meyer made a presentation to council members concerning budget problems caused by an 8 percent decline in tax revenue since last year.
Meyer said the city needed to cut certain positions in order to meet its budget for the 2008 fiscal year.
“In order to be sustainable, we have to be at about 100 positions less than where we are now,” Meyer said.
Mayor Hugh Hallman said the council would approach the budget crisis the same way it handled a similar crisis that took place from late 2001 to 2004– by instituting a hiring freeze and declining to replace employees who have retired. Such changes would not apply to public-safety employees like police officers or firefighters.
Hallman showed confidence in the city’s ability to rebound from its economic woes, citing its recovery from a depression in 2001.
“We were blindsided by 9/11,” Hallman said. “In this instance, I think we’re actually ahead of the curve.”
Meyer said he would work with other departments to come up with solutions to the budget problem and present more recommendations at the Nov. 6 meeting.
Tempe’s public transit department presented proposed changes to bus routes that would be implemented in late December to coincide with the opening of the light rail system.
The department has been making adjustments to the recommended changes since late May based on suggestions from the general public.
The most notable changes planned for late December include the elimination of the Red Line route and the removal of the downtown Tempe segments of Routes 56 and 76.
Transit administrator Greg Jordan said all commuters of the bus routes being removed would be served by the new light rail, which he said would be faster.
“We’ve found transferring to the light rail to get downtown is quicker, if not as quick as taking the bus there,” Jordan said.
Jordan told the council the department was no longer taking suggestions and would now begin the process of educating the public about the route changes.
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
