San Mateo County’s Caltrain deal rejected

San Mateo County’s transportation agency, SamTrans, put forward the proposal last week, seeking a combined $15.2 million from the two other countries in exchange for “diminished rights” within Caltrain governance. SamTrans since 2008 has been the managing agency over the train, an arrangement that’s caused recent friction as the neighboring counties have sought equal control.

While governed by a nine-member board (three seats for each county), Caltrain staff including its executive director are SamTrans employees, meaning San Mateo County is in charge of hiring — or firing, the top role. The executive director oversees the rail division, accounting for the vast majority of the agency’s employees. The deal would have transferred authority over the position to the tri-county board.

But SamTrans would have remained the managing agency, and board members from San Francisco and Santa Clara took issue with employees left out of the agreement including those responsible for real estate functions or public relations who would remain SamTrans employees.

“There are about 200 people we’re not disagreeing about,” board Chair Steve Heminger said, who represents San Francisco. “We’re disagreeing about a couple dozen.”

Heminger said he was unclear how SamTrans had landed on the requested $15 million, calling it an arbitrary figure. He recommended an ad hoc committee be formed to include three board members, one from each county, to “hash out these issues in greater detail.” He said the committee would be tasked with bringing forward a new proposal by March 3.

Board members were unable to reach a vote on any of six areas of discussion pertaining to the proposal during their 4 1/2 meeting.

SamTrans Board Member Charles Stone, also a Belmont councilmember, said any new agreement, such as one with expanded roles handed to the board, would carry a larger price tag. Employees shared between San Mateo and Caltrain allow for cost saving by not requiring duplicate roles, he said.

Any payment would be in addition to an agreement reached last week for SamTrans to be repaid $19 million for a related debt by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the agency overseeing transportation in the Bay Area.

That payment would settle a tab dating back to 1991, when the three counties agreed to pool their money to purchase the rail system, previously privately owned. San Francisco and Santa Clara counties’ portion of the deal was to be a combined $43 million — a sum that went unpaid until 2008, when a deal was brokered by the MTC in which SamTrans agreed to receive a lesser payment in exchange for being made managing agency of the rail system.

How and when the debt would be repaid has been intertwined with governance reform disagreements between the countries, the likes of which have consumed the board’s focus and “incurred hundreds of thousands in costs,” according to SamTrans.

While Stone said SamTrans’ proposal would have settled things between the agencies, Heminger suggested it would only serve to reopen the 2008 agreement. “My reading is it would essentially mandate a provision of that agreement,” he said. “This basically rolls in a new financial obligation that would need to be met.”

The ad hoc committee will include Heminger along with board members Devora Davis, representing Santa Clara County and Jeff Gee representing San Mateo County.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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