HomeMy WebLinkAboutREDgradyph3MEETING AGEND A
Dear City Council Members,DATE/W/o ITEM #P14 3
From :John D . Grady,CFP [mailto :jgradyslo@earthlink .net]
Sent :Tuesday, October 05, 2010 10 :01 A MTo:Council_ALL RED FILESubject:Bus Fare Increase
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416-reI hope at tonight's council meeting you will each take some time at the outset t o
acknowledge the many public comments you heard at the last meeting in opposition t o
the historic home ordinance you are considering . It appeared as if the scores o f
comments you received fell on deaf ears at your last meeting . It would also be nice t o
hear you each articulate your own stance and how you came to your current position o n
this issue . I remain opposed to this measure in any form .
I also just saw that one of tonight's agenda items is the proposed bus fare increas e
which you visited a couple of months ago . I watched that prior meeting an d
appreciated Andrew Carter's objections to the proposed fare increase and was happy t o
see other council members agree to have staff review this further before taking action .
I think Andrew's point is quite valid that when you increased single ridership fares las t
time around the net result was fewer riders and lower revenues .
I urge you to NOT make this same mistake again tonight by raising single ridership fare s
as well as increasing transfer fares to a full fare price . This I believe would b e
catastrophic to many bus riders, particularly in these difficult economic times, and tha t
you would again see a fall in ridership . I believe another proposal being studied was t o
perhaps increase the cost of a monthly pass somewhat . This seems more palatable an d
perhaps even this increase might be avoided or at least lessened for seniors an d
students who again would be the hardest hit by a fare increase of any kind .
The discussion came up somehow on the Dave Congalton show last night that peopl e
who work downtown are eligible for free bus passes . This appears to be a well kep t
secret, even though I know the program has been around for years . I believe I only
learned of it when my son attended SLO High and worked downtown and thus qualifie d
for a free bus pass which he used exclusively to get to and from work as he had no car . I
suggest you or your staff also visit this issue and take steps to get the word out to al l
downtown employees about this program . I believe all downtown businesses as well a s
the City should be promoting this free program extensively . It obviously helps ou r
environment and frees up much needed downtown parking spaces .
I must briefly comment on a couple other issues . While I have reserved judgment o n
the new double deck bus, you have failed miserably to justify this expense to the city ,
however small it may have been . The general mood I hear over and over again is that i t
is a waste of taxpayer money, be it city or federal tax dollars . Much the same sentimen t
exists with regards to the new fire engine . If you truly believe in these two purchases I
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SLO CITY CLERK
think you and the city need to do a better job of justifying and selling these ideas to th e
taxpayers .
Lastly, why did we need to hire an interim fire chief? Money is tight now and you wil l
soon be facing tough budget decisions . Why could not the second in command at th e
fire department have taken over the duties of the chief during this time? He (or she )
should certainly be well qualified with many years of experience in order to be in thei r
current position .
And whomever is chosen as the new chief, I hope you hire someone who is not alread y
retired and receiving a government pension and that you don't grant them a salar y
increase over the former chief's salary as you did to attract our current City Manager .
As always, thank you for time and consideration of my suggestions .
Regards ,
John Grad y
San Luis Obispo