The government may be open for now, but Monterey-Salinas Transit is still left in the lurch.

The impacts of the record-long 35-day partial government shutdown are still rippling across the economy, and for Monterey-Salinas Transit, the three-week temporary funding bill to reopen the federal government until Feb. 15 is not providing any relief.

MST’s problem is this: Every year, the federal government disburses about $9 million to MST - approximately 20 percent of MST’s annual budget - from taxes collected at the pump. In a typical year, the funds start rolling in for MST in December, a few months after Congress passes a budget in October.

But there still isn’t a passed budget for the next fiscal year. On Jan. 30, the Federal Transit Administration sent an email to MST and other agencies, saying that due to the short duration of the current funding, the FTA will not be processing any disbursements or grant applications until “we see the outcome of the [fiscal year] 2019 funding bill.”

“I can’t blame staff or leadership at FTA,” says Carl Sedoryk, MST’s general manager. “There’s a fundamental flaw in how we fund infrastructure in this country.”

Sedoryk says MST can weather the lack of funding until spring or early summer without reducing services, but it will require burning through reserves and taking on loans from other agencies and banks: On Feb. 4, the MST board approved a $1 million credit extension with Rabobank.

If the government shuts down again and President Trump declares a national emergency - which would presumably reopen government - “then I think we’re okay,” Sedoryk says, “but it will be tight.”