Some funding for bus agency still possible

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Updated: February 27, 2012 9:57AM

MERRRILLVILLE — Legislation to fund the Regional Bus Authority might be close to dead this legislative session, but language that could get it $9.5 million in funding from a seemingly forgotten fund could still see the light of day.

Lake County Commissioner Roosevelt Allen Jr. told the 13-member quorum at Wednesday night’s RBA meeting that state Sen. Earline Rogers has drafted a proposal that would transfer to the agency funds from a $300 homestead tax credit given to low-income and differently abled people in the 2001 House Enrolled Act 1902. She had originally intended to insert it into the land-based casino legislation, but since that won’t be taken up until next year, Rogers is looking for another bill in which to attach it. The specific funding bill, Rep. Linda Lawson’s H.B. 1110, was not likely to move out of committee this session.

Transit-related bills would be the best option, RBA Executive Director Tim Brown said.

“Since the RBA provides service to (low-income and differently abled), it would revenue-neutral,” Allen said. “It would just be a matter of readjusting where the money goes.”

Board member and former Lake County Councilman Tom O’Donnell pointed out that while the state did give them money from the credit, the state did eventually make the county pay it back via casino revenue. The money is now available, he said, because the county paid the state whatever it was owed, and the tax would again be regarded as a surplus.

“The council might not be happy about reallocating the money,” he said. “I would be surprised if they want to redirect, especially with the jail issues they have to find a way to pay for.”

The money’s use, however, is at the discretion of General Assembly, not the council, Allen said.

If the money were to be reallocated, Allen said $4.7 million of it would come from casino revenues, and Gary, Hammond and East Chicago would give $1.6 million apiece. The RBA would likely bet he primary beneficiary because it’s the one in danger of running out of money, but that language could be amended to include Gary’s, Hammond’s and East Chicago’s transit systems if pressed.

To that end, Brown said he has established a calendar outlining the dates for the RBA shutdown should it happen by June. Public hearings regarding the shutdown will be held March 29th and April 26th at the Hammond Public Library and Purdue University Calumet, though times have not been established.

In other business, the board signed a resolution supporting coordinated and cooperative transit initiatives and heard from Chicago-based attorney Steve Siros regarding the progress on the Council for Accessible Transportation (CAT) agreement. The agreement has been signed by both the RBA and Everybody Counts, but Siros said there’s still a lot of bugs in the system that’ll likely need to be overseen by a court-appointed monitor.

“There’ll be costs, but I think it’ll be much cheaper than having to pay (RBA attorney Dave Hollenbeck) each time there’s a disagreement,” Siros said. “There continues to be a failure to communicate.”

The CAT, in the meantime, will hold its spring training session at the RailCats stadium in Gary, said Everybody Counts Executive Director Teresa Torres. The RBA will pay up to $30,000 in fixed costs for the training, with additional funds available for sign-language interpreters if necessary.