Results of the Hammond Transit Public Hearings
To Attendees of Hammond Transit Public Hearings December 4 & 13, 2008:
Hammond Transit System would like to thank each and every one of you for your participation and attendance at the public hearings held on December 4th and December 13th, 2008. The hearings were held to allow people to comment and remonstrate on the changes and eliminations of service that Hammond Transit System was forced to make in 2009 as a result of budgetary cuts.
We want you to know that both meetings were very productive and heartfelt and valuable information was shared. Even though we consider the meetings to have been successful we are sorry to report that the budgetary issues forcing the cuts have not been resolved at the moment and the announced changes and eliminations are going forward. The Hammond City Council should be taking action at the Council Meeting at City Hall on January 12, 2009, to finalize the Hammond Transit System budget for 2009 and a Resolution in support of County financing is currently on the agenda. Hammond Transit System, the City Administration and the City Council are all hopeful that the Regional Bus Authority will be successful in their endeavor to find a permanent funding source in 2009 to make it possible to take over Hammond routes and to provide all citizens in Northwest Indiana an improved, seamless, and more desirable bus service. To this end we ask all of you to continue to speak out and write to your Congressman, and elected Indiana legislators as well as local elected County officials to let them know of your transit needs and desires so they will fight in your behalf. There will be a Lake County Council meeting on January 13, 2009 at the Crown Point, IN Government Building (third floor 9AM) where it is expected that legislation will be introduced to create a small food and beverage tax to give the RDA money to dedicate toward bus transportation. I urge all persons interested in furthering the cause of bus transportation to be at the meeting to push for the passage of that effort, or send a correspondence to your County representative if you are not able to attend in person.
Below is a list of questions asked at the hearings with our responses. Thank you again for your interest in Hammond Transit System and Northwest Indiana bus transportation services. If you should have questions, or concerns please feel free to contact us.
Keith Matasovsky
Director, Hammond Transit System
December 4, 2008 HTS Public Hearing –Questions & Responses
1. Why not raise fares?
Raising the fares would not generate sufficient revenue to offset the shortfall in local funding. At current ridership levels, the fare would need to be raised to over $10 per ride to cover the shortfall in local spending.
2. Why can’t casino money be used to fund transportation?
Casino funds are providing the $400,000 that will be used to operate Hammond Transit System from January 1 through June 30, 2009. The mayor and each member of the city council are allotted casino dollars which he/she then allocates. Any of these elected officials could allocate funds for transportation. However, HTS does not receive any casino funds directly and has no ability to compel any of the elected officials to allocate his, or her casino dollars to transportation.
3. Why not cut the budget from other places such as a roll back of the wage increases given this year or elimination of take home vehicles?
HTS’ budget for 2008 included three employees. The entire administrative budget for HTS is only 20% of the local money needed to operate the transportation system and HTS could not continue to operate with any personnel cutbacks without impacting the ability to continue to receive State and Federal funding. Furthermore, HTS is a city department and decisions to give wage increases, or having take home vehicles are not ones made at the department level.
4. Are you looking for funding from somebody else such as the RDA?
Discussions are ongoing with the RDA and RBA. HTS has discussed the recommendation for a regional bus authority that would allow riders to travel throughout Lake County, not just Hammond. The current proposal to fund a regional bus authority is contingent upon funding from a proposed hotel and beverage tax. Any comments regarding a hotel tax, or the Regional Bus Authority should be made to your Lake County Council members before, or during the Council’s next meeting on January 13, 2009. The Lake County Council can be reached at 219.755.3280, or by writing to Lake County Council 2293 N. Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307.
5. What research was done when purchasing buses? Are there more cost effective buses available?
Bus purchases are the responsibility of the Regional Planning Commission in conjunction with the entity providing the local match for the capital purchase. However, the expertise and advice for buying buses lies with the purchasing agent for NIRPC being that federal funds that cover 80% of the purchase of buses come through that agency. The current Hammond Transit System buses were purchased in 2002 and 2003 before the current administration came to office. Unfortunately there are stipulations that are mandated by the FTA with the purchase of buses requiring that they be used for a determined useful life before retiring the asset. The determined useful life of the HTS purchased buses are 10 & 12 years.
6. What is the Regional Bus Authority?
The Regional Bus Authority is a board that was established in 2004 that succeeded the Lake County, IN RTA formed for the purpose of studying and developing a plan to build a regional bus system that extends through the boundaries of Lake, Porter and LaPorte County, Indiana. The hope is that it would be a system that would be more efficient and seamless than the many systems that now exist in Northwest Indiana.
7. Why not charge a small monthly fee to each Hammond residence, such as add a $1 fee to the water bill each month?
In order to be considered a fee, the charge must be reasonably related to materials or services provided to the homeowner. Where the charge is not reasonably related to a service or material provided to the homeowner, it is considered to be a tax. HTS does not have the authority to charge a transportation tax.
8. Why hasn’t the RDA/RBA provided money?
As of today the RBA does not have a permanent funding source and the RDA is constrained by State statute that restricts it from using funds for operational purposes.
9. Could under productive routes be eliminated?
This was one of the primary considerations in eliminating Saturday service. Saturday ridership is approximately 60% of weekday ridership.
December 13, 2008 HTS Public Hearing-Questions & Responses
1. Why did you propose these changes?
HTS proposed a budget for 2009 that would allow it to continue service at its present level. The property tax cap required the City Council to cut the city budget. On September 29, 2008, the City Council voted to cut funding to HTS. Thereafter, an ordinance was proposed and passed that provided $400,000 to continue transportation through June 30, 2009. $400,000 is insufficient funding to continue service at the current level through June 30, 2009. HTS proposed the planned service cuts in order to continue operations through June 30, 2009 with the funds allocated.
2. What is being done with casino money?
The casino money is allocated to the mayor and the City Council members. Each decides how to spend his or her allotment of casino money.
3. Is the city paying to landscape Indianapolis Boulevard? Why?
The City of Hammond is working together with the Horseshoe Casino to beautify the corridor coming into the City of Hammond to make it more impressionable to improve the perception of Hammond in the eyes of visitors and investors.
4. Why can’t they use casino money to operate transportation?
The decision to allocate casino funds for transportation rests with the City Council and the Mayor. HTS does not have any authority to compel an allocation of casino funds to transportation. City ordinances and State legislation sometimes have prohibitive clauses that restrict the use of casino funds also.
5. What is the where, when and how of the Lake County Council’s plan to pass a hotel tax to fund transportation?
The proposal to pass a food and beverage tax is going to be proposed at the Lake County Council Meeting on January 13, 2009, 9AM at the Government Center complex, third floor, Crown Point, IN.
6. Why hasn’t INDOT allocated any funds to Northwest Indiana?
INDOT does contribute funds to Northwest Indiana. Many of INDOT’s dollars have a matching requirement. That is why the HTS’ funding shortfall must be raised from local dollars. The HTS budget contemplated that the local dollars would be matched by state and/or federal dollars.
7. Why can’t $1M from the $54M amphitheater project be used for transportation?
This is a discretionary decision that rests with your elected officials.
8. If you have such a deficit problem, why not extend the service hours?
HTS’ operations operate at a loss (as do virtually all public transportation services). Extending the service hours would increase the shortfall in funding.
9. Why don’t you raise the fare instead of cut service?
Fare box revenue generates approximately 5% of HTS’ budget. Raising the fare would not generate sufficient revenue to continue Saturday service or route 1 existing weekday service.
10. Is it true Hammond gets $50M from the boats?
Yes. In 2008, the City of Hammond received in excess of $50,000,000 from Horshoe Casino.
11. Why can’t we get longer service hours and more frequent service?
HTS does not have sufficient funding to extend service hours or provide more frequent service.
