Director: Late runs to be cut next year

Fuel costs and less federal and state funding have squeezed the authority.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Western Reserve Transit Authority is abandoning any consideration of placing a 0.25-percent Mahoning County sales tax proposal on the November ballot and will likely cut services beginning Jan. 1, its executive director said.
The first thing to go will be nighttime bus service, said Jim Ferraro, WRTA's executive director.
Ferraro and Youngstown Council public utilities committee members talked June 28 about a county sales tax to replace Youngstown property taxes as the transit authority's main source of revenue. The plan was to meet Monday with county officials to discuss placing the sales tax on the Nov. 7 ballot.
But Ferraro said Monday that the tax discussion was premature.
"We were a little ambitious," he said. "We were between a rock and a hard place, and we felt we had to do something."
The city property taxes provide about $5 million in annual funding for WRTA. A 0.25-percent county sales tax would raise about $7 million to $8 million annually.
The county tax would permit the authority to greatly expand, but Ferraro said that option isn't on the table. The county has struggled over the years to get sales tax renewals approved by voters for general operations.
"Everyone has their own [financial] problems," Ferraro said.
If WRTA wants to move toward a county sales tax in the future, it first needs to undergo a performance audit, said county Administrator George Tablack, who attended Monday's meeting.
Funding sources
WRTA recently raised its fare rates, but that money brings in only about 15 percent of the authority's income, Ferraro said. It receives about 35 percent to 40 percent of its funding from the Youngstown property levies, he said.
The rest comes from state and federal funding, but the authority has experienced cuts from those entities in recent years, Ferraro said. On top of that, it is paying at least double for fuel this year than what was budgeted, he said.
The authority's operating budget is going to be about $1.25 million short of what it needs to maintain the current operating level of 26 routes, Ferraro said.
Because of that, he said the WRTA board would probably decide to eliminate the seven night bus routes effective Jan. 1 to reduce expenses.
"We'll meet the needs of most, but some will be affected," Ferraro said.
skolnick@vindy.com