The Regional Transportation Authority is withholding funding for several Sun Tran programs until an agreement with city officials can be reached.
The RTA made headlines recently when negotiations that could have brought Sun Tran under the organization's authority broke down. After heated argument—and one meeting that ended with the RTA’s executive director threatening to shut down work on the downtown streetcar project—the board voted late last week to indefinitely suspend negotiations with the city.
The board meeting on Thursday will focus on how the city spends voter-approved RTA money. RTA officials are also concerned with how the city uses the $675,000 the RTA provides each month for Sun Tran’s paratransit program, late-night buses and other extended services.
“Right now the city is expecting a check to cover those services,” said David Joseph, an RTA communications specialist. “That check is on hold.”
