Seward County Commissioners on Jan. 15 asked Public Transit Director Brandy Hafer to bring additional information on possible rate increases or service cuts to deal with recent cuts in state and federal funding in the next few weeks.
Hafer told commissioners in November that her program had received a 30% cut in state funding. In past years, state funds derived from federal allocations provided about 80% of its budget.
The budget cuts came after the start of the current fiscal year.
Now, she is dealing with the realities of that cut and trying to minimize its impact on Seward County residents who use the transportation system to get around the county and to medical and other appointments in Lincoln, Omaha and other places.
“I am trying to come up with different ways to make things work,” Hafer said Jan. 15.
Raising rates and cutting services are the key options. Another option mentioned was to charge a flat per-mile fee for all trips, regardless of location.
In addition to the state funding, the department used to get about 10% of its funds from the state that was not tied to the federal funding and 10% through county funding.
Before the cuts, the program needed about $29,108 per month to operate. Hafer told commissioners she has about $21,000 in state and $73,000 in federal funds remaining for the last six months of this fiscal year.
Hafer has cut some staff service hours, utilizing two drivers instead of three on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
She is looking at changing the fees for trips to Lincoln, which in the past have been based on the location of passenger drop offs within the city.
She is also working with the county attorney’s office to renew Medicaid eligibility for their fees related to medical transportation.
Some transportation systems base fees on income or SNAP eligibility, but Hafer said they have no way to verify that information.
