Seward County’s Public Transit system will see no cuts to its service hours.
The county spent several weeks discussing potential service cuts to deal with a decrease in the reimbursement funds it receives from the state, but at its March 3 meeting, Seward County Commission Chair Misty Ahmic said the program should end the year without a deficit and no changes in service hours are anticipated.
More than 40 people attended a public hearing Feb. 24 based on earlier information that the county was planning to cut service days to meet the budget, possibly as soon as this month.
But Ahmic said between the time the public hearing was scheduled and the time of the public hearing, county officials were studying transit use information and scrutinizing the budget and concluded no further changes would have to be made to deal with the reimbursement changes from the state this year.
But, she said, that information was not shared clearly with others prior to the public hearing.
Changes Public Transit Director Brandy Hafer made prior to the public hearing sufficiently address the anticipated budget woes based on changes made by the state in public transit reimbursements this fiscal year, Ahmic said. Those changes included streamlining processes and determining not to replace a full-time driver position when that driver retires this spring.
“I believe that moving forward we will be fine,” Ahmic said. “We are always looking for ways to deal with the rising cost of everything.”
Ahmic said the federal government allocates funding to the state for public transit and the state has matched 10% of that funding in the past. Each public transit system was expected to match 10% of that funding, too, creating an 80-10-10 formula.
However, Ahmic said in a later interview the state has indicated that if the transit system’s costs exceed their 10% match, the difference will fall upon the local transit system budget. The state match will not change, which could alter the formula.
State funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year is not yet known, but may be different.
But she also said there was some misunderstanding that the county would contribute only the minimum match. Last year, the federal and state funding totaled $210 million and the county’s share would have been $50,000.
The county actually contributed $150,000, Ahmic said, noting that the program has been and will continue to be important to the county.
Ahmic said in a later interview that anxiety and emotion were high at the public hearing for people who use and provide public transit. She said she remains committed to the public hearing process.
The discussions have also raised questions about how public transit is being used – with some families using it for school transportation and its use in Seward and around the county.
Since the public hearing, Ahmic said Commissioner Darrell Zabrocki has met with the city of Seward, Commissioners Scott Pekarek and Raegan Hain have met with the Seward School District and she has met with the city of Milford to discuss additional avenues for partnership on public transit.
