(The following article by Graham Rayman appeared on Newsday’s website on June 5.)
NEW YORK — A new analysis by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi concludes that the MTA has the money to reduce the fare increase for subways, buses and commuter railroads by 50 percent for the last six months of 2003, and rescind the token booth closings.
The decrease would set fares for the rest of this year at $1.75 rather than the current $2. In 2004, the fare would return to $2.
Previously, the MTA has argued that if fares were rolled back to $1.50, the agency would be forced to raise fares in 2004 to $2.13 or $2.35.
“Once again, the MTA isn’t leveling with rider,” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. “If the MTA wanted to, it could get money back in the pockets of riders.”
But MTA board chairman Peter Kalikow argued Thursday that Hevesi relied on “broad assumptions to reach overly optimistic conclusions.”
He also said the comptroller’s finding is a “clear vindication of the MTA board’s vote to raise fares.”
“The MTA has less than zero credibility,” a Hevesi spokesman, David Neustadt, responded. “In two separate cases, two judges independently determined that our findings were right and the MTA deceived the public and hid revenues. Why would anyone take those comments seriously?”
Meanwhile, a state assemblyman investigating MTA finances raised new questions about whether the existence of a $1.8 billion pension debt had been properly disclosed.
The debt — described as an unfunded pension liability — is from bus workers and Long Island Rail Road workers’ pension costs. According to Assemb. Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), the sum never appeared in MTA budget documents during the fare hike dispute.
“We can find no records in published documents of MTA as to the existence of a pension liability of that amount,” Brodsky said.
Brodsky said the existence of the liability was found in an obscure federal document, part of the agency’s recent request in a 200-page reorganization bill to borrow money to pay off the debt. Such a liability occurs, budget experts say, when there are lower stock market returns on pension investments than expected.
But in a letter released after the hearing, Kalikow countered that the liability had been “widely disclosed” in publicly available financial statements.
Just two weeks remain in the state legislative session. Brodsky attempted yesterday to convince Kalikow to commit to a series of changes, such as tighter lobbying rules, an independent oversight board and a budget monitor, which allow more public disclosure about agency operations. Brodsky had limited success.