The City of Porterville filed a lawsuit today against the Tulare County Regional Transit Agency for $3 million, which the joint powers agency acknowledges it owes but refuses to pay.The monies cover payments for the loan the City gave TCRTA to launch four years ago and outstanding TCRTA-related maintenance costs that the City covered.
“TCRTA’s Executive Director, Abul Hassan, doesn’t dispute his agency’s responsibility to pay this amount, yet he continues to refuse to issue any reimbursement,” said Patrice Hildreth, Porterville’s City Manager. “After exhausting all other avenues to recoup taxpayer funds, we were left with no other option than to go to court.”
The City of Porterville’s focus has remained on providing excellent services to its customers. Even though TCRTA stopped paying its bills to the City, the City continued maintaining TCRTA’s vehicles to ensure that there would be no negative impacts on transit riders. Since July 1, the City’s transit department has taken back control of operations and has overseen a successful transition of services.
“We’ve seen a 42% increase in ridership with a 98% on-time operating efficiency since we relaunched our own service on July 1,” said Richard Tree, Porterville’s Director of Transportation. “Our senior and disabled ridership also increased 17% since we took over operations. We promised to provide a more effective and efficient transportation system for those who live, work and play in Porterville. I’m proud of our accomplishments thus far!”
TCRTA’s failure to pay the City stems from its financial mismanagement. The agency has failed to draw upon over $8 million in federal money that should be used to pay its bills. The City of Porterville intends to hold TCRTA accountable to ensure that transit funds are put to their proper use.