When it comes to regional transit, what the General Assembly gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. This year the Assembly passed legislation to permit Charlottesville and Albemarle County to create a Regional Transit Authority, yet simultaneously denied the RTA the option of raising money through an increase in the local sales tax. That’s why, when the RTA Joint Working Group met May 14, Albemarle County Supervisor David Slutzky put it this way: “We now have enabling authority to create an authority as we wanted to, but the question becomes, how do you fund it?”
The RTA could raise money by creating a service district that would impose additional property taxes on a defined area or types of properties in order to pay for added services. In this case, the service could be more frequent buses, more routes, and better connections among them.
County Supervisor Dennis Rooker, however, cautioned during the meeting, “It’s a dire funding situation. I don’t necessarily think jumping into a new funding scheme right now is the best approach.” So, the RTA may have to wait to see what changes come with the November statewide elections. It can also sit tight and see what money comes from Washington.
To create the RTA, both the City and County would need to transfer assets to the RTA and move employees from their payrolls and onto the RTA payroll. Those employees would also have to switch into the state pension system. The exact cost of this shuffle, however, is not easy to estimate. The City and County plans to hire consultants to help them estimate this cost and may seek grants to help pay for this study or later actions by the RTA.
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