MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 3, 2024
TO: Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority Citizen Advisory Committee
FROM: Rick Sonnenburg, Program/Contracts Manager
SUBJECT: City of Manitou Springs Proposal for Revenue Allocation Adjustment
On June 14, 2023, the PPRTA Board approved a revenue allocation proposal to the City of Manitou Springs (attached) to remedy a deficit in their contributions compared to their allocations. The proposal was accepted by the Manitou Springs City Council. The $600,000 allocation in section #1 of the proposal was transferred to the City’s Capital account.
Section #2 of the proposal—”a commitment by the Board to study options…to address the annual situations when the City of Manitou Springs experiences a financial deficit”—is now before the CAC and the Board. PPRTA staff used the same accounting process as was used to review Manitou Springs’ PPRTA financial situation for years 2005-2022 to develop a template (attached) for the Board to consider using for the end of 2023 and beyond. PPRTA staff has also posted the financial data in the template for Manitou Springs’s financial situation for the end of 2023 (attached) which shows a deficit of $65,725, which would be transferred from the mid-year budget amendment to Manitou Springs’ account, either Capital and/or Maintenance. It needs to be noted that in the event that using the template in future years shows a surplus for Manitou Springs, then the transfer would be from Manitou Springs to the other five member governments.
At the June 12, 2024, Board meeting, the Board discussed this item, but postponed it and referred it back to the PPRTA staff and the CAC for the development of at least one more option than what was proposed to the Board by the PPRTA staff and the CAC. The additional option which PPRTA staff is suggesting is to request that before the PPRTA CAC and Board can make a decision regarding a special Capital allocation in this last year of PPRTA-2, the City of Manitou Springs should determine how it is going to spend the PPRTA-2 Capital funds it currently has in its PPRTA-2 Capital account on its remaining three Capital projects. If the City cannot spend its current PPRTA-2 Capital funds, then not only would it have to return those unspent funds to the Board for redistribution to other member governments, but any special Capital allocation funds would have to be returned as well.
Consequently, the PPRTA staff proposal to the CAC would be to state to the City of Manitou Springs that when it has spent or has a specific plan (including engineer’s estimates and contractor bids) to spend the balance of its existing PPRTA-2 Capital funds on its remaining PPRTA-2 Capital projects and can demonstrate a financial need for additional PPRTA-2 Capital funds, the PPRTA CAC and Board will give consideration to such a request from the City.
RECOMMENDATION TO THE CAC:
PPRTA Staff recommends that the CAC approve positive recommendations for at least the following two options: 1) the preferred option is to inform the City of Manitou Springs that when it has spent or has a specific plan to spend the balance of its existing PPRTA-2 Capital funds on its remaining PPRTA-2 Capital projects and can demonstrate a financial need for additional PPRTA-2 Capital funds, the PPRTA Board will give consideration to such a request from the City of Manitou Springs, 2) the use of the template described above for calendar 2023 and each year beyond, and/or 3) other options which the CAC would like to offer for the Board’s consideration.