Freedom Transit seeks matching funds from Washington City Council
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The executive director of Freedom Transit asked the Washington City Council Monday for authorization of $110,709 to match transportation funding provided by the state for the next fiscal year.
Freedom Transit must provide a 15% funding match each year for its transportation funding. Thus, the company requests money from the county, city and various communities it serves to help with that funding.
Sheila Gombita said the $110,709 is the same amount as the city’s contribution for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Gombita’s initial request could be higher. In January, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a proposal that would increase the state share of public funding by 1.75%. It would be the first increase in the state share of public funding in more than a decade.
“That’s a positive thing for transit all across the commonwealth,” Gombita said. “It would result in us getting additional funding.”
If approved, the transit authority would receive about an additional $460,000, but that would require an additional local match of $69,000, an increase of 23%.
Freedom Transit is one of five state transit agencies required to provide 15% local match funding.
“We have to come up with additional local match funding that we have not had to come up with before,” Gombita explained after the meeting. “Because we are at the maximum 15% for local match funding, we are required to match that full at 15%. That would result in an almost $70,000 increase in local match dollars. We’ll have to see if the city would be able to come up with it or if the county would be able to come up with it.”
Gombita said she already has met with Washington County commissioners and will meet with some of the other communities the transit authority serves in an attempt to secure the additional funding.
She also has meetings planned with state Sen. Camera Bartolotta and Rep. Tim O’Neal to see if there is a way to reduce such an increase.
Council is expected to vote on the initial funding request when it meets Thursday.
Council is also expected to vote Thursday on accepting a bid of $122,800 from Ashley’s Truck Service of Venetia for one of the city’s fire trucks.