Milwaukee County Transit System money mess; leadership changes, strike vote
MCTS money mess, leadership changes
The Milwaukee County Transit System is struggling with a money mess. The interim CEO is stepping down, and now the union is voting on whether to strike.
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is struggling with a money mess. The interim CEO is stepping down, and most of the union is in favor of a strike.
MCTS cuts coming soon
What we know:
MCTS was waiting for money that never came. It estimates a $10.9 million budget deficit. That is over budget by about 6%.
Transit system officials estimate $1.4 million of that gap comes from fare caps and riders not paying. At the same time, bus parts and supplies are another $1 million over budget.
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"We are experiencing unhealthy levels of overtime," said Alexander Corona, MCTS Chief Financial Officer.
MCTS officials say overtime totals another $1.4 million. It adds up to $4.7 million over budget for salaries and benefits.
What they're saying:
"Employees are not doing anything wrong, they are just doing what they were told they could do by the agreement that they have reached. I think it’s a little unfair to say this is excessive overtime. Well then, maybe you shouldn’t have agree to it in the first place," said Milwaukee County Supervisor Justin Bielinski.
MCTS and the workers union have not agreed on a new contract.
"We’re just asking for what we deserve," said Michael Brown, Vice President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998.
On Wednesday, 98% of Amalgamated Transit Union members voted in favor of a strike.
"We’re not trying to shut down the city. That’s not our goal," Brown said. "People said we should have done this during Summerfest. We’re not trying to mess with Summerfest. We’re not trying to hurt our public because we want to get our people back and forth to work. We just want accountability, and we want the county to take over to see what’s going on, because they were caught off guard."
Negotiating a contract
Dig deeper:
MCTS and the union will negotiate the contract again on Thursday and Friday. But both sides did agree to a temporary contract extension that runs through July.
The Milwaukee County Comptroller has ordered an audit as the county waits for answers.
"We at MCTS, we view this audit as a strategic opportunity to strengthen trust and internal performance," Corona said.
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MCTS said they will not cut any routes, but they are looking to pull back some hours. So of the system's 16 high-frequency routes that come every 15 minutes during the day, ten of them will see midday hours pushed back, not during peak hours. So instead of a bus coming every 15 minutes, it might come every 20 minutes.
What about the deficit?
What we know:
As far as who is paying for the $10.9 million hole, MCTS will tap into unused federal COVID-19 relief money that was supposed to be used through 2027. To help balance the budget, MCTS is freezing hires and stopping overtime except for emergencies.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.