FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Citilink is facing a financial shortfall. Last month, they announced increased ticket prices to help cover costs, but a presentation made to the study on Pension Management Oversight at the statehouse revealed just how much they're running low on funds. Metzinger presenting to the study on Pension Management Oversight. "A post-pandemic effect that is affecting about half of U.S. transit agencies," said John Metzinger, general manager and CEO of Citilink, while speaking before lawmakers in Indianapolis. "In Indiana, there are a couple of others that have this fiscal cliff on the horizon. We're unfortunate that ours arrives next year." In an exclusive interview, Metzinger made the "cliff" simple to WANE 15: "If we don't find the funding to fill our budget shortfall, it's going to mean devastating cuts to our service in Fort Wayne." Metzinger anticipates the cuts could be up to 14%, which he said would affect nearly 300,000 passenger trips per year. While Citilink is looking to raise bus fares in order to help navigate its financial issues, the organization also wants to raise property taxes. "About half of the properties in our transit district are already their property tax cap, which means there would be no impact to the taxpayer," Metzinger said. "For those who do have an impact, the annual cost is between $4 and $12, so it's not a significant impact, although we do recognize any property tax is an impact." Citilink to raise bus fares in light of $2.5 million deficit Metzinger presented in the state's capital on Monday, Sep. 23. The main focus was on Citilink's inability to pay for its employee pensions. Now, he's pleading with Fort Wayne City Council to help reroute the transportation system before they miss the last detour before the cliff. "Our hope is that City Council will take time to learn with us about what's possible," Metzinger said ahead of Tuesday's City Council meeting. "We recognize that they won't make the vote on our budget until a few weeks later, but we believe there is a great business case for the City of Fort Wayne to authorize this investment and [preserve] public transit." However, Citilink will need City Council to approve its budget in order for the property tax increase to be implemented, and on top of that, City Council would have to sacrifice budgeted money from other departments. The increase wouldn't hit everyone as those above the circuit breaker (tax cap) in Indiana would be exempt. But those who aren't already at the cap are those paying taxes on the properties with the lowest assessed value. “This does disproportionally impact those who have lower value homes, and that is true because of how the state has set up the circuit breaker tax,” said 6th District Councilwoman Rohli Booker. “So often it is those who have the least who are asked to do the most.” It's a point 2nd District Councilman Russ Jehl railed on as well during Citilink's hearing, but he also took exception with the fact that not enough taxes can be collected, which would damage the rest of the city and county budgets. "Your proposal asks to take $847,000 from us," Jehl said. "The proposal also takes $255,000 from townships, $365,000 from the county, $366,000 from the schools, Allen County Public Library $99,000, the airport authority $24,000 and $30,000 from the county EMS and fire. How many of these other entities have you discussed how much you [plan] to take from them?" "To date, we have only spoken with the city and with Fort Wayne Community Schools," Metzinger replied. Jehl, Metzinger discuss Citilink's property tax plan In addition to Jehl's thoughts, Tuesday's meeting featured other councilmembers who spoke out in favor of or against Citilink's property tax plans. "It's not really an option that we say no," said At Large Councilwoman Michelle Chambers. A representative from Baker Tilly, a consulting and public accounting firm, said the property tax plan would detract roughly $850,000 in taxes from the City of Fort Wayne that would instead go to Citilink. There are a couple of others that have this fiscal cliff on the horizon. We're unfortunate that ours arrives next year. John Metzinger, General Manager of Citilink Ultimately, City Council decided to completely table the discussion until Oct. 22 when the budget is finalized. Citilink's Funding Issues Metzinger said one issue Citilink has faced in recent years is a lack of state funding. While statistics vary from state to state, one transportation agency, the Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) in Rockford, Illinois, oversees a similar service area population to Fort Wayne but receives significantly more state funding than the Summit City. The RMTD received $12,249,185 from the State of Illinois alone in 2022, which is roughly $2 million less than Citilink's entire operating funds that were either directly earned or received from local, state and federal governments. Metzinger talks public transportation differences between Fort Wayne, other communities Other areas in nearby states with similar service area populations, such as Lexington, Kentucky, also receive lower funding from the state, but the Lexington Transit Authority is able to generate significantly more funds on its own than Citilink. Metzinger contributed these factors to the State of Indiana and smaller communities not wanting to invest in public transportation. "The difference here in Indiana is public transportation has not been prioritized in part because it's misunderstood by elected leaders, and that's on us. That's on the community," Metzinger said. "So, we who advocate for public transit need to do a much better job at the state level and with local leaders to understand its impact." Pension Problems "We are begging to get a better handle on where the pension is and where it's going," Metzinger said. Citilink has not paid the expected amount to their pension for the last five years and is only one of two government agencies in the state that has been declared delinquent in regard to pension payments. As a result, Citilink is looking to make employees contribute more to reach the mark necessary to not be delinquent -- a conversation that is at the center of collective bargaining conversations right now. "Currently, 12.25% of pay is contributed to the plan annually, with only 1.56% employee contribution," Metzinger said. "We need to be able to resolve this through bargaining." "We expect to resolve that by 2025," Metzinger concluded. In addition, Metzinger said to the study on Pension Management Oversight that Citilink may change from a defined benefit plan -- which he said is rare to see -- to a defined contribution plan. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), "The benefits in most traditional defined benefit plans are protected, within certain limitations, by federal insurance provided through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)." However, the case isn't the same for a defined contribution plan. "A defined contribution plan, on the other hand, does not promise a specific amount of benefits at retirement," continued the DOL's website. *WANE 15's Clayton McMahan contributed to this report