ONTARIO – Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero hopes Ontario City Council will rethink including a contribution to Richland County Transit in its 2018 budget.
Vero addressed council Wednesday night, where he provided requested Ontario ridership data that doesn’t include numbers from NCSC or OSU.
“I come again in peace and harmony to ask council’s reconsideration for a modest contribution to Richland County Transit,” Vero said.
No official action was taken on his request Wednesday night.
In October, Vero and two others addressed council, asking for a $10,000 contribution. Yet at the most recent Ontario finance committee meeting, the proposed budget didn’t include a contribution.
At the committee meeting, several council members expressed concerns that the information provided to them was not Ontario specific. Second Ward councilwoman Michelle Webb and others wanted to see Ontario ridership numbers without including data from the NCSC and OSU campuses.
At-large councilman Eddie Gallo discussed that concern at Wednesday’s meeting.
“It’s disingenuous to us and the college because there’s that concept of double dipping,” he said, adding that if NCSC and OSU didn’t already contribute, it would change the situation.
But the information Vero presented excluded that ridership data and the boarding and drop-off information from Buckeye Village, too, since it’s subsidized by the colleges. This information showed 17,814 people boarding the buses in Ontario during 2017 and 14,181 people being dropped off within city limits during that same period.
RIDERSHIP IN ONTARIO IN 2017 WITHOUT OSU & NCSC NUMBERS
While only two of RCT’s 14 bus routes travel into Ontario, these are consistently the most boarded routes, Vero said. Route 1 “Park Avenue West” stops at Hawkin’s Corner, Springfield Square, Avita, the Richland Mall and Walmart, and Route 9 “West 4th Street” stops at Meijer, Avita, the Richland Mall and since October, Target.
“For whatever reason – medical, choice, circumstance – there are people who ride the bus into Ontario and spend, obviously, money in Ontario … so I’m humbly asking for a reconsideration of a small contribution to Richland County Transit,” Vero said.
The commissioner explained how he searched Google Maps – with two screens open at a time – to make certain that only Ontario-specific data was provided to council.
Gallo thanked him for this updated information.
“Seriously, we are thankful for that, because on a basic level that’s something we’ve asked for, for a number of years, and prior to you, it’s been lost in the rhetoric of back and forth, and it’s never been truly provided,” he said.
Mayor Randy Hutchinson expressed support for contributing.
“I’ve always been in support of RCT,” he said. “And I think the numbers show that it’s being used.”
But without evening and weekend routes, even Third Ward councilman Mark Weidemyre, who has been vocally supportive of contributing to RCT, expressed concern.
“I think to make transit truly feasible and sustainable, you’ve got to look at those possibilities,” Weidemyre said.
He discussed how Ontario’s retailers need employees who can work on nights and weekends.
Vero said this has been discussed, but it brings along expenses and challenges. He estimates a $17,000 to $20,000 cost per route. Also, even if there was one route to Ontario on a weekend or evening, riders may not have access to it unless they live close enough to walk or bike to the Transit Station in downtown Mansfield.
“If you can get a ride out to the main hub, you can get a ride out to Ontario,” he said, “You need multiple routes to truly maximize the capacity of the system. Running one specific route for one specific time isn’t really cost effective.”
Fourth Ward councilman Dan Zeiter suggested a “combo” route. He wondered if a bus could make a longer loop, stopping at some key Mansfield, Ontario and even Lexington areas.
According to Vero, this too has been discussed, but also brings along challenges and a price tag.
“I guess, that’s why I’m here today – it costs money,” Vero said.
According to RCT general manager Fernando Molina, securing enough local funds is crucial. Each local dollar can be matched with grant dollars. So essentially, if Ontario contributes $5,000, RCT could earn an additional $5,000 via grants.
“It helps with the expansion of the service and allows us to be able to provide more of what we’re doing now,” Molina said in a Wednesday afternoon interview.
The most recent and readily available data shows contributions from Mansfield, Shelby, Richland County and several organizations in 2016.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO RICHLAND COUNTY TRANSIT SINCE 2002
At that time, Mansfield contributed $57,153 via a grant. While the city did give $150,000 from its general fund in 2002 (the earliest data immediately available), it began making its contributions using grant money and has continued to do so since 2003.
Shelby briefly gave via grants from 2010 to 2013 but began contributing from its general fund in 2013. In 2016, the city contributed $5,722. In a January interview, Shelby Mayor Steve Schag shared t’she city intention to contribute $6,145 in its portion of an agreement that also includes Pioneer Career and Technology Center and North Central State College.
Organizations, including Pioneer, NCSC, Richland County Newhope and the Mental Health Board, gave a combined $53,214 to RCT in 2016.
Richland County also contributes. It allotted $45,850 from its general fund in 2016 and gave an additional $22,600 through a grant.
“We in the county also contribute more than $45,000 to transit. Keep in mind the vast, vast majority of the roads traveled by the transit system are municipal roads, whether it’s Ontario, Madison, Mansfield, but Marilyn (John), Daryl (Banks) and I have made a commitment to transit,” Vero said, referring to the other two county commissioners.
Vero also addressed concerns about how much sales tax Ontario receives from Richland County. Councilman Dan Zeiter questioned Vero about this matter when the commissioner previously spoke to council about contributing to RCT.
SALES TAX GIVEN TO ONTARIO FROM RICHLAND COUNTY
According to Vero, the county is contractually obligated to give Ontario $66,642.40 per year. But it has traditionally provided cities with an excess.
The contractual amount is based off $1514.60 per mile of street in March 1988. Ontario had 44 miles at that time. Hutchinson confirmed Ontario has added miles since then, but not in an excessive amount.
Since Ontario stopped contributing to Richland County Transit in 2011, the county has continued to give Ontario an excess, totaling $366,784.85. Vero noted, 2009 and 2010 were difficult years for the county. While county employees absorbed paycuts and furloughs, the commissioners still gave an excess to Ontario, Vero said.
In 2009, Ontario received $101,944.02 in excess, and 2010, it received $65,107.62 in excess.
In these same year’s Ontario’s contribution to RCT dwindled and ultimately ceased, as council balanced its budget that was greatly disrupted by the loss of the city’s General Motor’s plant. In 2009, Ontario was contributing $30,000 in Richland County Transit, but the next year, the amount was cut back to $7,500.
In 2011, Ontario stopped making contributions to RCT and hasn’t done so since.
Ontario Council did not further discuss contributing to RCT after Vero and John both spoke. Council read the legislation associated with the city’s final 2018 budget for the first time. Council will read it again on Feb. 21 and vote on March 7.
