Could Sacramento Regional Transit's free ride program for youth be cut?

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento city leaders discussed Tuesday the proposed cuts to fix the $66 million budget deficit.

The Budget and Audit Committee held a meeting at city hall that included public comment. Most people were upset over the possibility of cuts they said are crucial to the community, particularly children.

"You can figure out a budget cut for something else, don't do it to the kids," one concerned community member said.

The proposed budget suggests the City of Sacramento cut its $1 million contribution to the $10 million program that helps get kids to and from school on public transit for free.

Sacramento Regional Transit's (SacRT) RydeFreeRT program has been operating since the fall of 2019 and has had great success getting more kids to and from school and around the community daily.

The San Juan Unified School District said that more than 9,000 RydeFreeRT passes were distributed by school sites to students at the beginning of this school year.

"While we don't know the exact usage of those passes, anecdotally many families have expressed gratitude for this free transportation option, and for many, this has helped with attendance for their students," a district spokesperson said.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the program is still a priority, but the city will not be helping with the funding.

"We in the end cannot, must not forsake our kids, period. End of story," he said.

During Tuesday's meeting, the mayor committed to meeting with SacRT and local school district superintendents in the coming week to strategize how to keep the free rides running.

The promise was not supported by people who took the podium Tuesday at the Budget and Audit Committee meeting who still think the city should partially fund the program.

"If you guys cut this, how are my kids going to get to school? Are you going to get them to school?" said one concerned public speaker. "I can drop them off on your doorstep if you can make sure they'll get there on time."

A spokesperson from SacRT told CBS13 that the program is not going anywhere and will continue to operate. The only challenge is finding the funding.

SacRT said it initially budgeted $1 million from the City of Sacramento, $350,000 from Sacramento County and around $250,000 combined from the cities of Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Folsom and Elk Grove.

It subsidizes approximately $8.4 million for the RydreFreeRT program that the spokesperson said is using already strained general operating revenues.

This possible cut is all part of the proposal the city is considering to come back from the $66 million deficit.

"No one is suggesting that we dip into the reserves," Mayor Steinberg said.

The "rainy day reserve" currently sits at $74.3 million. The proposal suggests the city not contribute any money to it this year. It would usually reserve about $3.8 million into this reserve, according to the city.

Thousands of dollars of cuts to SMUD's Museum of Science and Curiosity, the Sacramento History Museum and Old Sacramento Visitor's Center are also points of controversy for the community.

The city council is discussing this budget proposal more in-depth at Tuesday night's meeting. There are a lot of other meetings planned over the next few weeks before the city council adopts a budget by the end of June.