PSTA HeadsTowards Fiscal Cliff Again As Big Pay Raises Funded with 1-time COVID Money & Escalating Operating Expenses Comes Home to Roost

Tampa, Fl
From: Eye On Tampa Bay

Pinellas County Transit agency PSTA is heading towards insolvency. They used one-time COVID dollars to hand out large raises now baked into PSTA's budget. PSTA depleted almost $100M of COVID dollars over the last few years.

PSTA knew they were heading towards a fiscal cliff last year. The then governing PSTA board approved huge pay raises, implemented "free to the rider" SunRunner rides and did nothing to alleviate PSTA's fiscal hemorrhaging. 

PSTA's operating expenses increased over 33% between 2018 and 2022. From 2021 to 2022, PSTA's operating expenses increased 22%. 

PSTA projects 2023 operating expenses  to be 113,276,130, an increase of 11% over 2022.  

PSTA's property tax revenues increased 35% from 2018 to 2022.

PSTA's property tax revenue increased almost 14% from 2022 to 2023 and is expected to increase almost 11% from 2023 to 2024.

Without a millage roll back, this is tax hikes to the property owners who pay the PSTA property tax, the vast majority never or rarely ever ride the bus. 

As we posted here in 2019, PSTA has been heading towards a fiscal cliff since before the pandemic. 

Time for the PSTA Board to rid of Brad Miller. And if they don't, replace the PSTA Board with those who will.

Read the full post here: EYE ON TAMPA BAY

This post is contributed by EYE ON TAMPA BAY. The views expressed in this post are the blog publisher's and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher of Bay Post Internet.

Cross Posted with permission from: Eye On Tampa Bay