SacRT leader Wiley moves up retirement date to August

Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Mike Wiley will retire Aug. 1 instead of remaining with the agency until December.

When the SacRT earlier this month named Henry Li as its new leader, Wiley was expected to remain as a "special assistant" until December 2016. However, due to Li's extensive transit experience and the agency's current financial difficulties, it was decided that Wiley's special assistant role wasn't essential to the agency, SacRT officials said in a news release.

Moving Wiley's retirement date to Aug. 1 will result in "significant cost savings" to SacRT in fiscal year 2017, according to the release. In addition, the move is expected to bring additional cost savings in the future in the form of reduced supplemental retirement benefits.

Earlier this year, SacRT projected a $19.6 million loss over the next five fiscal years. In May, the agency considered suspending Green Line light-rail service indefinitely to help offset the loss.

In March, the agency's board approved a 10 percent fare increase to help cover the shortfall.