HIGHLIGHTS – MARCH 13, 2023 CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION
- Proposed fee increases for residents – stormwater, water, and solid waste services
- Proposed fee adjustments (50% decreasing and 42% increasing) for developers
HIGHLIGHTS – MARCH 14, 2023 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
- An $8-$12M deficit predicted in FY26 for GoRaleigh bus service; fares brought in about $3.5M so even if fares are re-introduced, there would still be a significant gap
- There has been much activity to address issues with Glenwood South, but problems remain
MARCH 14, 2023 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Transit Fare Strategies
- GoRaleigh ridership now averages 85-90% of pre-pandemic levels
- 82% of GoRaleigh riders make less than $35K annual household income (86% for those that ride 6-7 days a week)
- 65% have no vehicle (75% for those that ride 6-7 days a week)
- 64% of riders use GoRaleigh for work trips (75% for those that ride 6-7 days a week)
- 43% of riders, ride 6-7 days a week
- 32% of total annual ridership rode free pre-Covid; 12% rode at 50% discount
- Farebox contribution was ~$3.5M annually pre-Covid towards a $43.9M budget and $1M for GoRaleigh “Access” riders toward a $14.0M budget
- GoRaleigh Access is experiencing double digit increases year over year for ridership and cost
- ARPA funds used to balance FY2024 budget, but inflation, labor cost increases, and new contract structure make things more expensive
- Anticipating FY26 deficit of $8-$12M
- Costs $350k annually to collect fares (pre-Covid)
- Raleigh Transit Authority voted 6 to 2 in favor of reinstating fares (impact of driver feedback and budget shortfalls); equity and accessibility influenced the two who voted against reinstating fares
- Fare Equity Analysis is underway
- Councilor Melton is opposed to reinstating fares based on income levels of bus-dependent riders
- Concerns about bus driver safety
- Microtransit contract service will be coming to Council in near future
- Even reinstating fares would leave a huge budget shortfall
Glenwood South Service Update
- Lots of activity but problems remain
MARCH 13, 2023 CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION
FY24 Budget Community Engagement Update
- More than 3000 responses (275% increase from previous survey efforts)
- Results may not be statistically valid because responding was voluntary and skewed toward older white homeowners with > $100k household income
- Residents want more money spent on Affordable Housing, traffic improvements (reduce accidents and congestion, and robust transit system; they are also least satisfied with City efforts on Affordable Housing and traffic improvements
- Budget input process will start earlier in the Fall next cycle
Planning and Development Services
- Updated comparison of Raleigh permitting fees with those of other peer cities (last done in 2017 and didn’t include all activities)
- Reviewed with development community members
- In many cases, Raleigh’s fees don’t cover our costs and are less than similar or peer cities
- Some fees are being removed, some added, and some modified
- Industry best practice is revenue neutral fees and 100% cost recovery is our target
- Proposal would result in 50% of fees decreasing and 42% increasing
- Mayor Baldwin asks how much fees will add to the cost of housing because developers won’t absorb any of the cost.
- Mayor Baldwin asks about how to incentivize affordable housing, ADUs, Cottage Courts, and Tiny Homes through fee schedule. Attorney’s office has concerns about that.
- Councilor Melton is concerned that fees are too high and wants to change rezoning rules to allow more things by right
- Fees will not change by more than 10% per year
Stormwater Management Enterprise
- Proposing 2.5% rate increase ($0.18/month/Single Family Equivalent Unit)
Solid Waste Service
- Proposing rate increase from $20.30/month to $22.40/month
Raleigh Water Enterprise
- Proposed increase: 3.5% or $1.77 on the median single family residential customer