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The Port Authority of Allegheny County recently unveiled a preliminary $332.3 million operating and $149.6 million capital budget for fiscal-year 2008, which begins July 1.

To offset a $50 million budget deficit, the authority already has approved a plan to cut service by 15 percent and eliminate 374 positions, including 267 layoffs. The agency also plans to make pension changes, increase health care contributions, freeze wages and eliminate deferred compensation for senior staff, and implement one-year wage freezes for all other non-represented employees. In addition, the authority has proposed raising fares on Jan. 1, 2008.

The agency’s capital budget would include $50 million for the North Shore Connector project, a 1.2-mile light-rail extension under the Allegheny River to Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The spending plan also includes $35 million for an automated fare-collection system and $780,000 for a bridge and rail inspection program.