Rural transit programs want fair share of funding

WILLMAR -- Rural public transportation systems are concerned they may be getting the shaft under a future funding scenario.

In the grab to get potential new state dollars under a proposed constitutional amendment, the Twin Cities metro transit systems are trying to secure 98 percent of the funding that would be dedicated for public transportation. That would give rural systems, such as Kandiyohi Area Transit, 2 percent of the pot.

The metro systems are "trying to hog our money," said John Groothuis, director of KAT during an operations board meeting Tuesday morning.

Based on 2003 figures, Groothuis said transit systems in Greater Minnesota provided 9,211,511 rides, compared to 78,314,776 in the metro area.

He said public transit programs in rural Minnesota provided more than 10 percent of the rides but may get only 2 percent of the funding. He said Greater Minnesota transit systems would be happy with getting 4 percent.

Groothuis acknowledged there has been growth in transit in the metro area, especially since the Hiawatha light-rail line became operational. "But we can't forget about Greater Minnesota transit."

He said metro systems "are not in the business of trying to work together" with transit systems in rural communities.

But unless voters approve a constitutional amendment this fall to dedicate more money to transportation, there won't be any money to fight over.

The 2005 Legislature approved the proposed constitutional amendment to dedicate 100 percent of the motor vehicles sales tax to transportation. The 6.5 percent tax is applied to the sale of new and used vehicles.

Currently about 54 percent of the motor vehicles sales tax is dedicated for transportation and the rest is put in the general fund.

Under the proposed amendment, the percentage that goes to transportation would increase to about 64 percent in 2008 and to 100 percent by 2012.

The current language in the proposed amendment says that "at least" 40 percent would go to public transit and the remainder would go to road and bridge projects.

Legislators are "arm wrestling" about the language, said Groothuis.

Some rural legislators are concerned that the way the proposed amendment is worded and are trying to change the amendment language to cap transit's allotment at 40 percent, thus guaranteeing that highways and roads receive 60 percent of the funds.

And now, within the battle for money, metro transit systems want 98 percent of public transit's 40 percent share.

Kevin Halliday, Willmar city clerk and a member of the KAT operations board, said there are two issues at hand -- getting the amendment approved by voters and making sure Greater Minnesota transit systems get at least 4 percent of transit's dedicated funds.

Groothuis said if Greater Minnesota transit is only going to get 2 percent, the actual dollars the rural systems receive will not be increased from the current allocation. If that's the case, he said he wouldn't support passage of the amendment.

Also at the meeting Tuesday, the board approved a temporary policy change to not provide any transportation service on Sundays. The decision allows KAT time to review potential services on Sundays in the future.

KAT has never provided Sunday rides, but they've received recent requests by the YMCA and at least one Willmar church to provide rides.

Some board members viewed the request as an opportunity to expand services, especially for individuals with disabilities that have difficulty getting to church. But Groothuis said there was the potential to run into conflicts with honoring some, but not all, requests for Sunday rides.

The temporary policy will allow staff to deny Sunday requests until the board has an opportunity to review survey data and determine if Sunday bus service could be offered without losing money. One option may be to offer rides to a church, or group of churches, that contract for Sunday rides with KAT.