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Ypsilanti bus service may stay at current levels, despite a $123,000 shortfall in the amount the city will be charged by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.
Mary Stasiak, manager of community relations for AATA, said the board planning and development committee will be recommending to the organization’s full board to allow the use of federal stimulus dollars to maintain current levels for 21 months.
City Council voted last week to recommend the AATA, which operates bus service in Ypsilanti, to eliminate route five in the city and reduce the hours of operation for routes 10 and 11 by one hour. The decision came out of a menu of options from the AATA to reduce the cost for service in the city, as it had only budgeted for $159,000 of a $264,000 cost.
The city had voted to fully fund busing during through this fiscal year after only budgeting for a portion in years past. However, City Council learned in May AATA would be raising its cost for purchase of service agreements with municipalities in October, when the organization starts its fiscal year, to reflect administration costs along with fuel and direct costs.
Stasiak said the AATA has received $6.4 million in American Recovery Act funding. Until recently, however, the organization had expected to only be able to use the funding for capital projects. She said 10 percent of the award may be used for operational costs.
The committee, made up of three of the seven AATA board members, will recommend to the full board to use $220,000 of its $240,000 unallocated stimulus dollars to support service in Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.
The township has an $18,000 shortfall in its public transportation budget.
Stasiak said the rest of the stimulus dollars have already been allocated to capital projects including the purchase of four hybrid-electric buses, a new transit center on S. University Street in downtown Ann Arbor and a park and ride lot on Plymouth Road near US-23 among others.
She said the board will consider the recommendation from its committee Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.
Councilmember Peter Murdock, D-Ward 3, who attended the committee meeting Wednesday with Mayor Paul Schreiber and Councilmember Brian Robb, D-Ward 3, said he is “pleased with their understanding of the situation.”
Murdock said he did not expect what came out of the meeting, but he didn’t know what to expect.
“I think everybody’s ultimate goal is ‘are we going to fund this in a more permanent way?’ ” Murdock said.
Aside from recommendations for service reductions, which have to be approved by the AATA, the resolution passed by City Council last week also calls to set aside $218,000 of next year’s city budget for its busing costs. Additionally, if the discussed plan for a county-wide bus millage were to fall through than the city would put a proposal in front of voters to capture Headlee Rollback dollars strictly for busing costs in the Nov. 2010 general election.
Schreiber, who was the lone vote against the resolution passed last week, said he is pleased with the decision, but agreed with Murdock that the city still needs to work out permanent funding. He said he hopes the discussion about a regional millage moves forward. But if it doesn’t and city residents go to vote than all councilmembers would have to be on board.
He said he voted against the resolution last week because of its recommendation to cut service. Ypsilanti will likely find out next week if that will happen or not.
Related article:
City says eliminate bus route