RTD directors are considering four internal candidates — all assistant general managers — to run the transit agency on an interim basis until a permanent replacement can be found for departing General Manager Cal Marsella.
A month ago, Marsella said he will leave the Regional Transportation District on July 31 to join a private transportation company.
For the position as interim Regional Transportation District general manager, a committee of RTD’s board will consider Phil Washington, assistant GM for administration; Bruce Abel, assistant GM for customer and contracted services; Dave Genova, assistant GM for safety, security and facilities; and Scott Reed, assistant GM for public affairs.
Some area mayors and business leaders had asked the board to consider candidates from outside RTD for the interim position, but director Noel Busck, who heads the search committee, said Tuesday that the board expects to find the person it needs to run RTD on an interim basis from the senior staff.
Also on Tuesday, RTD finance chief Terry Howerter said the agency now expects its sales tax collections will decline 5.2 percent this year from 2008’s level, more than the earlier forecast of a 3.45 percent drop.
Sales taxes account for about 60 percent of RTD’s revenues and the recent decline has hurt the agency’s operating budget and the construction timetable for its FasTracks rail expansion.
To complete all FasTracks train lines on time, RTD likely will ask voters to approve a sales tax increase next year.
To deal with the financial squeeze on its current transit system, directors are expected to consider a number of money-saving measures, including service reductions on some transit routes, possible expansion of privatized bus routes and the possible imposition of unpaid furloughs for RTD’s 600 salaried employees.
To explore ways of generating more revenue, directors are reviewing RTD’s array of transit passes, with special attention to whether “unlimited access passes” such as Business and Neighborhood Eco Passes are priced fairly when compared other other fare options, including monthly and annual transit passes.
