Presidents Post – 2013 DCTA Board Retreat

May 7, 2013

Recently the DCTA Board of Directors met to chart a path for the development of the FY14 Budget within the framework of the agency’s Five Year Service Plan.  This retreat was held at the Hedrick House in Lewisville in order to have a more conducive setting while minimizing the expense of holding the event.

The meeting covered a number of topics, and included a review of the operating metrics for the first quarter, and a proposal for the five year plan, revenues, contingency planning, legislative issues, and our overall cash flow model.  The summary of the findings presented is as follows:

• The performance metric by for the First Quarter of FY 13 were tracking well.  Ridership, operating costs/rider, revenues are improving.  We had an uptick in bus accidents, and this is being addressed effectively by bus operations staff.  Accidents are trending down since the start of the Second Quarter of FY 13.
• A five year plan for meeting safety/regulatory requirements, improving the customer experience, and staffing were presented.  Unfunded (in current model) were identified, and efforts will be made in the budget process to continue to enhance our product.
• Contingency plans were discussed for a variety of issues, and the reserve fund requirements were reviewed.
• Implementing long range plans is a hot topic of discussion in the region, and the future plans for DCTA were discussed.
• The conclusion of the discussion focused on the cash flow model.  I was pleased to be able to report to the Board that our outlook is positive with the ability to fully fund reserve requirements, fund major capital maintenance items, and improve service.

In addition to the board retreat, we’ve also held multiple community open house events to collect feedback from the community. We are always open to public input and welcome any questions you may have regarding DCTA operations and services provided.

---