LA Metro Board approves nearly $10 billion budget

Topline:

Where the resources are going: In total, the budget is 2.4% higher than the countywide transportation agency’s previous one. Here are key takeaways from the budget:

• The biggest ticket item for the 2027 fiscal year is operating and maintaining the Metro system, which will cost the agency around $3 billion. 
• An additional $2 billion will be used to expand the system, including improvements to the G Line bus rapid transit, as well as construction of new bus projects from North Hollywood to Pasadena and along Vermont Avenue.
• The agency allocated more than $680 million on construction of the ongoing extension of the D Line. The second and third phases of that extension are due to open next year. 

Feedback from community: According to a budget proposal summary, Metro said it received “record-breaking levels” of engagement from the public that indicated the community wanted resources directed to safety, cleanliness and reliability of the system.

The challenges: Though the approved budget is balanced, Metro staff in a report highlighted several economic uncertainties that “directly impact” the agency’s “primary revenue sources.” Those include slowing sales tax growth and lessened consumer spending. Metro officials said external factors like inflation and tariffs add increased pressure on the agency’s financial stability.

Metrolink: The commuter rail system, which receives the majority of its funding from Metro and neighboring transit agencies, is facing an approximately $30 million budget shortfall and potential major service reductions. Metro has proposed to reduce its subsidy to Metrolink by $6 million, or 3%. That reduction won’t have an immediate effect on Metrolink, which requested more time to work on its budget. In the meantime, Metro will contribute the same amount to Metrolink as it did in the first quarter of last fiscal year.