Fiscal Note
The agreements will update and formalize practice for cost-sharing among Metro Transit and its service partners, with overall Metro Transit operational expenses continuing as a ratio of approximately 80% of costs borne by Metro Transit and the remainder borne by Metro's service partners. The agreements will also provide for the continuation of a contingency fund supported proportionately with contributions by the service partners in order to fund unanticipated increases in expenses such as fuel costs. In all, the contracts are intended to update long-standing agreements that provide equitable cost-sharing among those entities that utilize Metro Transit service. These updated agreements will not change Metro's current budget. Partner contributions for each subsequent year will be included in Metro's operating budget.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute agreements with current and future municipalities, institutions, and organizations, including but not limited to the Cities of Middleton, Fitchburg and Verona, the Town of Madison, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison College, and Madison Metropolitan School District for provision of transit service benefiting these partner municipalities, institutions and organizations starting January 1, 2015 for current partners and upon execution for future partners and continuing until written notice of termination or amendment by either party.
Body
PREAMBLE
In order to update contracts with partners to match current practice, provide ease of administration for long-standing contracts and to allow all partners to be able to more effectively budget and plan for transit service, partners negotiated a new, standardized contract for bus service. The standard contact for each partner, which will automatically renew each year, will be supplemented with Memorandums of Understanding to address specific costs, revenues, hours, routes and service changes.
Metro will calculate each partner's hourly cost of service and allocate a proportionate share of appropriate revenues to determine each partner's estimated annual investment. The difference between the estimated local share and actual local cost will be the responsibility of each partner as to its contracted service and will be payable via separate billing or the funding partner's share of the contingency reserve. This will ensure that Metro is paid equitably for transit service provided.
WHEREAS, partnerships with municipalities, institutions and organizations for the provision of transit services have been successful for both Metro and the partners for many years; and
WHEREAS, all parties wish to continue the service with some administrative improvements; and
WHEREAS the Contracted Service Oversight Subcommittee and the Transit and Parking Commission have accepted the terms of the partner investment computation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the City Clerk are authorized to execute automatically renewing contracts, and the Metro Transit General Manager is authorized to execute the related Memorandums of Understanding, with current partners and future partners who would like to contract with Metro Transit for service. Current partner contracts will begin January 1, 2015 and continue until the agreement is terminated in writing by either party. Contracts with future partners will begin upon execution by the Mayor. All contract documents, including any MOUs, shall be in a form approved by the City Attorney.