SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Will the Utah Transportation Authority have to cut more routes and cancel or delay mass transit projects?
Well, that's the concern of a new legislative audit released Thursday.
The audit shows the UTA with a lot of debt and less revenue than expected.
Maria Stahla, the supervisor assigned to audit, told a legislative committee,
"It remains uncertain whether UTA will have the revenue to operate the costly system that it is building."
The audit says the UTA has gotten off track by taking on too much debt at a time when revenues and ridership are down.
Sen. Ross Romero, a committee member said,
"You've got a lot of projects that are on the board but, obviously, if we can't pay for them, they're just going to have to slow down."
And how did the UTA respond to an audit which, well, threw them under the bus?
Gerry Carpenter, the UTA spokesperson told ABC 4,
"We're very pleased with the audit"
Yes. You heard right.
The UTA is "very pleased" with an audit that uses phrases like:
"a financial strain"
“effectiveness has decreased."
“overall costs have increased, transit usage has not grown."
The audit also concludes that more cuts in service may be necessary.
Gerry Carpenter says,
"We're going to have to continue to do that. The recession isn't over yet. It's starting to look a little bit better but there's still a long ways to go."
The audit also says some projects may have to be delayed and mentions possible fare increases as well.
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