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Fiscal Stewardship

Couple sitting at light rail station as new light rail train pulls in.

A decade ago, SacRT was operating in the red. At that time, the SacRT Board and SacRT General Manager/CEO Henry Li made a commitment: rebuild the system, modernize the infrastructure, and earn back public trust. The challenge was that there was no money set aside for any of it.

By the numbers: $0: Dedicated funding when the modernization program was first proposed $800 million: Secured in grants for rail modernization in the following decade

SacRT competed for every dollar. Modern, new low-floor light rail vehicles are now in service. Platform upgrades on the Gold Line are complete. Fifteen-minute service now reaches Folsom area stations. We went from operating in the red to carrying a solid annual reserve, built carefully, because in a system where no minimum level of funding is guaranteed from one year to the next, careful is the only option.

Outside recognition followed, from sources with no stake in saying it.

Good Governance Award, 2019

Sacramento Taxpayer Association, the only award of its kind in the organization's history.

Top-rated public entity

Ranked by regional polling for multiple consecutive years.

The work continues today

By the numbers: $2 billion in capital investments currently underway for buses, rail, stations, fare technology, and infrastructure upgrades built to serve the region for the next generation. This includes maintaining past investments in a state of good repair, so the vehicles and stations already built continue to serve riders reliably rather than deteriorate through deferred maintenance.