[Ohio-talk] Funding Changes Might Affect Statewide Public Transportation

[mzavoli at roadrunner.com]

Greetings Friends,

Changes to sales tax policies will affect Ohio's state budget across the board to the tune of $500 million annually.  Obviously, this will affect our public transportation throughout the state with diminished service, including Paratransit.

In Cuyahoga County, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) will see the greatest changes in bus and train service due to its large ridership.  Here is an announcement  from Joe Calabrese, CEO and General Manager of RTA: 

"RTA may lose $18 million annually in funding
A change in the base upon which sales tax is collected will reduce RTA’s annual sales tax receipts by a whopping 8.2%, or $18 million per year, according to the State Budget Office. Proportional losses will also be realized by the State and by counties. If this problem is not fixed, it could result in a significant 10% reduction, which would impact both customers and RTA employees.

Public transit may lose $18M a year in funding
By Joe Calabrese
CEO and General Manager
Public transit and Ohio counties face a serious financial challenge.
RTA has been informed that managed health-care services will not have to pay sales tax after July 1, 2017. RTA receives 1 percent of all sales tax revenue in the County.
Sales tax receipts are RTA’s largest revenue source, accounting for more than 60 percent of our total revenue each year.
This change will reduce RTA’s annual sales tax receipts by a whopping 8.2 percent, or $18 million per year, according to the State Budget Office.
RTA is not alone in this challenge. This loss in sales tax revenue will impact the State by more than $500 million annually, Ohio counties by more than $200 million annually, and the 8 transit systems that receive sales tax revenue by an estimated $38 million annually.
Our hope is that, because of the far-reaching impact of this change, someone in the State Legislature can come up with a solution.
If this problem is not fixed, it could result in a significant 10 percent reduction in RTA services, which would impact both our customers and our employees.
We are trying to raise awareness of this issue with the media and local elected officials. We urge you to write your State legislators and share your concerns."

There you have it in a nutshell. Now, we need to write to our legislators to help them understand what public transportation means to us.  Losing bus and train service, possibly even on Sundays, would mean some loss of our independence.  

Please write me off list if you're interested in providing input for a letter of circulation.  We can put the letter on this listserv, along with a  list of names of state representatives and senators.

Thank you and all the best.

Milena Zavoli