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The Port Authority of Allegheny County’s board recently approved a service reduction plan designed to offset a projected $80 million fiscal-year 2008 budget deficit.

Beginning June 17, the authority will cut rail and bus service by 15 percent. If the remaining budget deficit has not been eliminated by Sept. 2, the authority will reduce service an additional 10 percent.

In addition, the board approved a plan to reduce costs by accelerating the departure of employees enrolled in the Deferred Retirement Option Program to July 1; eliminating lifetime health care to non-represented employees retiring after June 30; increasing non-represented employees’ health care contributions to 2 percent of their annual salary in FY 2008 and 3 percent in FY2009; freezing FY2008 salaries for all non-represented employees; freezing the CEO’s salary through June 2009; and eliminating 56 non-union jobs, including 20 management positions, mostly through attrition.

Board members decided to defer a proposed fare increase until the authority can better gauge ridership levels under the new service plan and more accurately project fare revenue.