The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority hosted members of the Florida Department of Transportation, Broward, Miami Dade, and Palm Beach counties last week for the first of likely many meetings to discuss the future of Tri-Rail’s funding.
The meeting comes a few weeks after David Dech, SFRTA’s executive director, said the counties would need to pay $10 million each per year in order to keep the service going. In the future, that amount will jump to an additional $30 million per year. Currently, each of the three counties pay $4.2 million for Tri-Rail.
Attendees included Miami Dade Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales, Broward and Palm Beach County administration staff, FDOT District 4 commissioner Steven C. Braun, and FDOT District 6 commissioner Stacy Miller.
The meeting was not open to the public, but WLRN reached out to the attendees who called the meeting “very good” and “a productive initial conversation.”
READ MORE: Tri-Rail budget needs $30 million from counties or operations could cease, warns transit official
The sudden concern around Tri-Rail’s funding stems from FDOT cutting its funding next year and its desire to eventually stop funding Tri-Rail altogether. Last year, FDOT contributed roughly $60 million. This year, Dech said, their goal is to contribute $42 million. The current operating agreement between SFRTA and FDOT is expiring in less than two years.
In addition, COVID-19 relief money that had been helping float the Tri-Rail budget is expiring soon.
Dech says he understands that “the number may have been higher than they [County administrative staff] were expecting” but argues that this conversation was a long time coming. The legislation that created Tri-Rail requires the state to pay significantly less than $60 million per year it currently contributes.
“ If we're gonna be completely candid, having federal COVID relief funding allowed this can to be kicked. This conversation really should have been had in 2017, 2018, or 2019.”
Dech said that even if the Tri-Rail received zero dollars this year, SFRTA could operate the service at full capacity this year and next.
“Tri-Rail is not going to close tomorrow,” he said.
Members from each county have expressed the importance Tri-Rail has in the regional transportation system and that they are committed to finding a funding solution. But representatives are less sure as to what that funding solution might be.
When asked if the county was confident that funding could be secured for Tri-Rail’s future, a representative on behalf of Broward County administration said: “It's a fluid conversation and an iterative process...It's just not clear exactly how this is going to play out.”
The representative added that “ we should all be cautiously optimistic.”
Todd Bonlarron, deputy county administrator in Palm Beach County, in response to the same question said “ I don't have that crystal ball” and cited uncertainty with the availability of federal and state level funding as a reason for concern.
Representatives from Miami Dade County did not respond to requests for comment.
Dech remains confident that there will be a funding agreement reached, calling the counties “great partners.”
“ It would be a much different conversation we're having one of the counties would've said, ‘You know, we just don't care. Shut it down.’ But they're not saying that. Maybe I'm optimistic, but I took that as a really positive step in the right direction,” he said.
Now Dech ad SFRTA consultants will put together a dedicated funding report that lays out potential funding sources and county leadership will meet again to go over the options laid out in that plan. That meeting will happen in the next few weeks.
