The Board of Supervisors has agreed in principle to allocate money from its reserve fund to pay for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission’s work on the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) between now and the end of the calendar year. They agreed after a discussion held at the end of their work session on September 10, 2008. However, the exact amount remains a subject of debate.
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Supervisor
Dennis Rooker
(Jack Jouett) explained to the Board that the elected officials who make up the RTA working group negotiated with TJPDC staff members to come up with a figure lower than the Commission’s $50,000 request, an amount which was to take them through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.
“It’s $7,500 a month total, so that comes down to $3,500 roughly a month per jurisdiction and they wanted us to get approval for that for October, November and December,” Rooker said. Supervisor David Slutzky said he had heard a figure of $7,500 per jurisdiction for the rest of the year, but Rooker insisted that the County’s total outlay would be just over around $10,000.
The two City Councilors on the RTA working group heard differently, and a resolution authorizing $6,750 from its reserve for the TJPDC is on the Council’s agenda for its next meeting on September 15, 2008. That resolution reads that the total amount to be provided from the County and the City equals $13,500.
Supervisor
Ann Mallek
(White Hall) said transit was becoming more important for County residents every day. Supervisor
Sally Thomas
(Samuel Miller) said that the General Assembly may look favorably on the enabling legislation to create the RTA, given that many other metropolitan areas across Virginia are proposing similar agencies. Supervisor
Ken Boyd
(Rivanna) said he was not in favor of throwing out the County’s investment, and he also supported the additional funding for TJPDC.
The Board did not take an official vote on the allocation to TJPDC, though there was consensus to support up to $10,000. The final amount is expected to be determined at the Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting, set for October 1, 2008.
Sean Tubbs
