Consultant Services for Long-Term Financial Plan and Recovery Strategy and Financial Analysis

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) is a voluntary association of governments and a Joint Powers Authority under California Government Code Section 6500 et seq. Member jurisdictions include 22 cities and six counties: the County of Sacramento (including the cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, Isleton, Rancho Cordova and Sacramento); the County of Yolo (including the cities of Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland); the County of Sutter (including the cities of Live Oak and Yuba City); the County of Yuba (including the cities of Marysville and Wheatland); Placer County (including the cities of Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Rocklin, Roseville and Town of Loomis) and El Dorado County (including the City of Placerville).

SACOG is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the six-county Sacramento region, including the counties of Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba, El Dorado, and Placer. SACOG is also the state designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for the counties of Sacramento, Yolo, Sutter and Yuba. The Capital Valley Region Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways (CVR-SAFE) was established in the mid-1980’s between Sacramento, Yolo, Yuba, and San Joaquin Counties to develop, operate, and maintain a motorist aid system, which includes the existing traveler information system.

SACOG as the RTPA for the counties of Sacramento, Yolo, Sutter and Yuba must complete a financial analysis and a Long-Term Financial Plan in accordance with September 29, 2023, California Budget Act of 2023 Senate Bill 125 (SB 125) Formula-Based Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) & Zero Emission Transit Capital Program (ZETCP) Final Guidelines - https://calsta.ca.gov/-/media/calsta-media/documents/sb125-final-guidelines-a11y.pdf and SACOG guidelines. This financial analysis will result in a summary report containing financial information, to be updated annually, relating to transit operator current and future operating, capital/fleet, and planning needs. In addition, SACOG must complete a one-time Long-Term Financial Plan per SB 125 Guidelines for the eligible transit agencies in the Regional Transportation Planning Area – Sacramento Regional Transit District, South County Transit Link, Unitrans/City of Davis, Yolo Transportation District, and Yuba-Sutter Transit Authority by June 30, 2026. In addition SACOG wants to assist our regional transit operators by also including a Recovery Strategy component to provide financially sustainable options for our regional transit operators to implement the region's Next Generation Transit Strategy - https://www.sacog.org/planning/transportation/transit-strategies/next-generation-transit-study goals to make transit faster and more reliable, more equitable by reducing disparities in travel time and cost and elevating the needs of those who rely on transit most, improving transit access to top employment centers, making the rider experience as seamless as possible, being cost effective by minimizing cost and maintaining or increasing ridership while considering new options for funding services, focusing limited resources to deliver high quality transit in key areas.

SB 125 (Chapter 54, Statutes of 2023) amended the Budget Act of 2023 to appropriate $4,000,000,000 of General Fund to the TIRCP, $910,000,000 of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) funding, and $190,000,000 of Public Transportation Account (PTA) funding over the life of the program. The SACOG RTPA was allocated $200,896,191 in TIRCP funding, $30,867,000 in ZETCP GGRF funding, and $6,444,512 in ZETCP PTA funding to distribute to eligible transit agencies in the four counties. One-percent of the total SB 125 SACOG RTPA funding has been allocated to SACOG over the life of the program to administer, distribute, monitor, and complete required reporting over the life of the program.

As outlined in SB 125, it was the intent of the State Legislature to:
(1) provide one-time multiyear bridge funding for transit operators to address operational costs until long-term transit sustainability solutions are identified
(2) assist transit operators in preventing service cuts and increasing ridership
(3) prioritize the availability of transit for riders who are transit dependent
(4) prioritize transit agencies representing a significant percentage of the region’s ridership

To that end, SB 125 specifies that the moneys appropriated in the Budget Act of 2023 may be used for high-priority transit capital projects within the project eligibility categories allowed under TIRCP
in Cycle 6, zero-emission transit capital projects allowed under ZETCP, and also for transit operating expenses for operators within the RTPAs jurisdiction under both TIRCP and ZETCP.

To make the best use of SB 125 and future transit funding SACOG must complete two tasks:

(1) SB 125 Financial Existing Conditions Review and Cashflow Analysis: Evaluate future financial sustainability of public transit operations for the SB 125 eligible operators with the goal of identifying trends in transit operations, capital, and planning funding. This analysis will be updated annually through the life of the SB 125 funding program.
(2) SB 125 Long-Term Financial Plan and Recovery Strategy (one-time)