Politics

N.Y. problem non-issue for HART board

HART's new chief is in a dispute with the federal government at his Rochester agency.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD, Times Staff Writer
Published August 7, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Mark Aesch currently runs the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transit Authority.

TAMPA - It wasn't until after they voted to hire Mark Aesch that Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board members learned their choice to head the agency is in a dispute with the federal government at his current job, running a bus agency in Rochester, N.Y.

While they wish they had known about it last week, HART board members made it clear Monday they're not concerned. With the exception of County Commissioner Rose Ferlita, who was upset with Aesch for not disclosing the dispute, most of them called it a run-of-the-mill regulatory matter. The issue came up at a meeting during which the transit board discussed subjects ranging from making bus rides free to laying off administrators.

Aesch is in salary negotiations with HART. His public bus service in Rochester is fighting federal regulators who say it must stop competing with private contractors to run buses for high school students.

The Federal Transit Administration says the Rochester bus agency is breaking a law that says federally subsidized transit systems must step aside when private charter operators are willing to provide a service.

The dispute doesn't necessarily translate to the Tampa Bay area, which has no school bus contractors. Unlike parts of New York, public school districts here operate their own buses.

Board chairman Ricardo Roig compared the Rochester situation to the way HART was forced to stop running shuttle buses from Raymond James Stadium to the Gasparilla parade route this year, though it had run the shuttles since about 2000. An out-of-town company bid for the job this year.

In a letter to the board and in a phone interview Monday, Aesch defended himself and his agency, the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transit Authority. He said it had been providing buses for area high schools for 12 years under three different CEOs with the federal government's approval.

"We were a bit astonished" when the Federal Transit Administration reversed itself, he said. The bus service is seeking a stay in federal court.

HART board members called the issue insignificant.

"I don't think it would have made a difference," said John Dingfelder.

"I'm more convinced than ever we made the right choice," said David Mechanik.

The board also grappled with other questions Monday:

- They decided to hold off on ending some little-used bus routes to save money because the bus drivers' union argued they should cut some HART administrators' jobs first.

- They didn't vote on whether to seek a sales tax referendum this January to pay for an expanded mass transit system. The expected vote was postponed because some supporters of light rail say they need a better plan before seeking voters' approval. And some HART board members think this is a terrible time to ask the public for any kind of tax.

Instead, they asked for a report on what services HART could offer if it switched from property taxes to sales taxes. A half-cent sales tax would bring HART about $110-million a year, far more than the $36.5-million it currently gets from property owners.

- Board member Mark Sharpe said the agency should explore doing away with fares entirely and offering free rides if it switches to a sales tax. HART collects roughly $10-million a year in fares.

Mike Brassfield can be reached at 813 226-3435 or brassfield@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 7, 2007, 00:45:53]