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Yesterday, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) officials began the fiscal-year 2013 budget planning process three months earlier than usual in order to develop a range of options to address an anticipated $12 million to $17 million budget shortfall.

The agency needs to address the deficit because of the slow economic recovery, anticipated cut in federal operating grants and costs associated with a new labor contract, TriMet officials said in a prepared statement.

The agency’s FY2013 budget takes effect July 1, 2012. TriMet’s FY2012 operating budget is $444 million.

“We have already cut $60 million from past budgets, but our financial challenges remain,” said TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane. “We face some tough decisions ahead and everything is on the table as we look to take corrective actions to close our budget gap and realign our cost structure.”

As a result of a stagnant economy, the agency expects to receive about $3 million less in payroll tax revenue than previously anticipated. And with “significant uncertainty” in the federal budget, the agency is planning for an estimated $4 million cut in federal funds, officials said. TriMet receives $40 million to $45 million in federal funding for annual preventive maintenance.