CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - At the Citrus Heights City Council meeting on May 9, staff recommended that the City enter into a contract with Lance, Soll and Lunghad, LLP (LSL) for independent audit services. The City of Citrus Heights retains an outside audit firm to perform a complete audit on the City’s financial transactions and activities each year. Richardson and Company has performed the audits since 2014.

In February 2019, the City requested new proposals from independent audit firms, and five proposals were received. City staff evaluated the proposals for technical experience and staff qualifications, training, and education. LSL was determined to be the best choice for the new contract.

The contract with LSL is for a three-year period, with the option of adding two additional years. The cost of the yearly audit services will be included in the City’s budget. For fiscal year 2018-2019, the cost is budgeted at $40,765.

The Council voted unanimously to approve the proposal and authorized the City Manager to execute the contract with LSL.

James Boyle, director of planning for Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT), provided the Council with an update about the SacRT Forward project and its upcoming launch of the new network. SacRT Forward, essentially a redesign of the entire bus network, was a two-year process involving analysis of route productivity and extensive public outreach.

SacRT operates every day of the year, including on holidays. Throughout Sacramento County, there are 3,500 bus stops and an average of 36,000 passengers board SacRT each day.

The goal of SacRT Forward is to improve the frequency and reliability of the bus system, so adjustments have been made to almost every route. The new network will provide longer service hours, more frequent stops, and more weekend service.

After examining ridership patterns, SacRT determined that many of the low-productivity routes are being utilized only during the peak hours of morning and evening commutes. These will be converted to “peak hour routes.”

Other low-productivity routes will be merged together to increase the frequency of stops. To best allocate resources, some routes will be discontinued due to very low ridership.

Currently, more than half of the routes do not run on weekends, but when SacRT Forward launches, all but one of the routes (Route 33) will run seven days a week.

The redesigned network will be simpler and easier for riders to use, and the routes will all have a frequency of 45 minutes or better (except Route 19). The new route schedules will also complement the new 15-minute frequency of weekend light rail.

Jessica Gonzalez, SacRT director of marketing and communications, explained the comprehensive plan for educating riders about the new route system. SacRT staff will conduct direct outreach on each of the routes, riding the routes and talking to the riders. They will explain the changes and help riders understand how the upcoming changes will affect them.

Handouts specifying the changes to the particular route will be provided, and letters or door hangers will be delivered to the public in areas near new bus stops and discontinued bus stops.

The public outreach campaign will also include new signs on all the buses and updates on social media. SacRT staff is receiving extensive training on the new route system so that all employees will be able to answer questions from the public.

The SacRT website will also feature a “future trip planner” that will allow riders to input the date, time, and location of their destination and receive route options to help plan their trip.

Since the frequency of service is increasing under SacRT Forward, new bus drivers are needed. Gonzales said the jobs offer great benefits, an excellent pension plan, and opportunities for promotion. To apply, visit www.sacrt.com/careers or call (916) 556-0298.

SacRT Forward will launch on September 8, 2019, and SacRT plans to invest up to $3 million in additional funds to retain and improve service.

Mayor Jeannie Bruins said, “It sounds like you put a tremendous amount of work into this, and I think it will pay dividends.”

Councilmember Steve Miller, a member of the SacRT Board of Directors, said he is excited about this change: “This redesign is long overdue.”

He acknowledged that change can be difficult and that there may be some problems initially, “but we’re committed to solving them. … We’re building a network for future expansion, so as funding becomes available we can build upon what we’re doing.”