The Budget Process

Budget Development

Budget Development

SEPTA’s Operating & Capital Budgets are developed over an eight-month period that comprises three phases:

1.​Budget Proposal Development

2.​Public Comment & Adoption

3.​Final Budget

Budget Proposal Development

The proposal phase begins in December with alignment around Strategic Plan goals and priorities to drive the budget development process. Kickoff meetings are held, committees are formed, and priorities are communicated to the organization through those committees and budget liaisons within each department.

In January, meetings are conducted with internal departments and committees to review current-year budget variances and to discuss new Operating and Capital budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year. Meetings are also held with external stakeholder groups such as the City of Philadelphia and Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties, as well as SEPTA union leadership and the Citizen Advisory Committee. All discussions emphasize the importance of aligning new budget requests to SEPTA Forward, SEPTA’s strategic plan.

Also in January, anticipated service levels for each mode (Bus, Metro Rail, and Regional Rail) are established for the upcoming fiscal year to determine budgets for service-driven Operating accounts, such as transportation labor, vehicle maintenance, fuel, propulsion power, and purchased transportation.

In February, Operating and Capital budget forecasts are developed to determine the available funding for the forthcoming fiscal year. Projects are presented at a public open house, and preliminary budgets are presented to SEPTA’s Interim General Manager and the executive team.

In March and April, draft Operating and Capital budget proposals are assembled containing the cumulative results of the approved new requests and updated forecasts developed during the preceding months. These draft proposals are presented to the SEPTA Board Budget & Finance Committee and published at septa.org/reports along with public hearing notices posted on the website, in various media outlets, and shared with stakeholder groups. The proposals are published at least 30 days before the scheduling of public hearings, which are held in May to solicit public comment on the documents.

Public Comment & Adoption

The public is invited to provide comments to SEPTA on the budget proposals in any of the following formats: 1) live during the public hearings (sign language interpreters are available); 2) by phone to 215.580.7772 (Operating) or 215.580.7771 (Capital), with English, Spanish, and Mandarin options provided; 3) by email to operatingbudget@septa.org or capbudget@septa.org; and/or 4) by U.S. mail to Senior Director, Budgets & Transformation, 1234 Market Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

The public hearings are conducted by an independent hearing examiner, who is appointed by the SEPTA Board Chair to preside over the budget’s public comment period. The hearing examiner issues a formal report to the SEPTA Board containing recommendations that result from the review of SEPTA’s budget proposal, testimony, and comments received during the public hearing process. The hearing examiner’s report is published at septa.org/reports and issued to the SEPTA Board.

Final Budget

The budgets are formally presented for consideration to the Board Budget & Finance Committee at its regularly scheduled June Board Meeting. The presentation includes submission of the formal Hearing Examiner’s report, with a recommendation for how the SEPTA Board should proceed in its deliberations. 

Following Board adoption of the Operating and Capital budgets, Final Authorization Letters are distributed to each department detailing their authorized headcount, labor, and material for the upcoming fiscal year. The Letters contain a comparison of the differences between the current and upcoming fiscal year.

After the fiscal year ends on June 30, the Operating Budget proposal is updated to include the actual financial results for the preceding fiscal year. Both the Operating and Capital budget documents are also updated with any changes that occurred between the publication of the budget proposal and the publication of the final budgets, which are posted to septa.org/reports in August.

(Any mid-year budget amendments are subject to this same process.)

The Budget Process at a Glance

December:

¡​Alignment of SEPTA Forward goals and strategies for forthcoming Operating & Capital Budgets

¡​Interim GM Guidance Memo circulated to staff; committees formed & trained

January:

¡​Departmental & stakeholder meetings held (Counties, Unions, Citizen Advisory Committee)

¡​Anticipated service levels established by mode for Operating Budget

¡​New projects are considered for inclusion in the Capital Budget

February:

¡​Forecasts updated & preliminary budgets presented to GM Team

March/April:

¡​Draft budget proposals presented to the Board Budget & Finance Committee

¡​Budget proposals released to the public at septa.org/reports

¡​Notices of public hearings are published at least 30 days in advance of scheduled hearings

May:

¡​Public hearings held on budget proposals

¡​Public Open House held on Capital Program projects

June:

¡​Hearing examiner’s reports published at septa.org/reports

¡​Budgets formally proposed to Board Budget & Finance Committee for consideration & Board adoption

July/August:

¡​Budgets go into effect July 1

¡​Final Budget Books published

¡​After action meetings held & improvements are planned for the following fiscal year

September/October

¡​Process amendments, as needed

Fiscal Year Calendar