As the director of the Allen County Regional Transit Authority for the past three years, it has been a daily struggle to be able to provide the type of transportation that is needed for our community.
Every day, we receive requests for additional services. People are in need of earlier transportation, extended service, 30-minute service and so on. I am amazed for a community of this size that we had more than 396,000 riders in 2016 and it continues to increase.
We have extended our elderly and disabled service outside of Allen County due to the demand for service to hearing disability schools in Findlay, hospitals in Columbus and the Veterans Administration Clinic in Dayton. There is a need for safe transportation for non-profits like church day cares, Big Brothers and Sisters, Changing Seasons and many others. The list continues to grow.
If we want our community to continue to grow, then we need to support RTA by voting yes on Nov. 7 to a 0.25 percent sales tax increase.
RTA has lost more than 30 percent in grant funding and each year it continues to be a struggle with no dedicated funding. We have become creative in trying to build revenue. RTA currently collects revenue for its $3.7 million budget from federal and state grants that continue to decline. RTA leases the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Admin Building. For revenue, RTA sells Greyhound bus tickets for commission, sells lottery tickets from the lobby for commission, sells vending products for revenue and sells fuel from the maintenance garage to non-profits for revenue.
The county commissioners stopped revenue support in 2008 and has not been able to provide support since that time. The city supports RTA with $95,000 per year. RTA receives just under $200,000 in fares.
This sales tax levy would support ACRTA with declining revenue from the federal and sate, with the levy ACRTA would be able to continue to grow with the community and also would be able to support other transportation related issues, for example sidewalks for the community. ACRTA currently transports over 1,300 wheelchairs a month, so we see the need for sidewalks every day. ACRTA wold be able to support bike lanes, bike share programs and other nonprofits that also provide transportation. This levy revenue would support transportation for the community, not just RTA.
With several months of surveys and research, the sales tax was chosen because it would not just affect property owners. Our surveys said 80 percent of the sales tax was from population outside of Allen County. A sales tax increase would not affect the top three household expenses: mortgage or rent, utilities or groceries.
A 0.25 percent sales tax amounts to an additional 13 cents on every $50 spent on taxable items. It’s a small price to pay for mass transportation in our community.
If the levy is not supported, ACRTA will be forced to start shutting down services that were funded by the grants. This would include money used to provide Saturday and evening service for the elderly and disabled, many which use our service to obtain dialysis treatment.
It will also be the start of a ripple effect. The grants we currently receive are formulated by mileage and ridership, so when this declines, future grants will also decline even more. As a result, more service will need to be cut. It will continue until ACRTA will no longer be able to provide any service.
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