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Public transportation group identifies priorities

The Public Transportation Subcommittee of the Governor's Transportation Taskforce made its recommendations for funding options to support Idaho's public transportation needs on Aug. 30.

After its July meeting, the subcommittee ranked the proposed funding mechanisms that would help meet the cost estimates for public transportation needs in Idaho. At the Aug. 30 meeting, they reviewed and discussed the ranking of the list of potential Public Transportation Funding Options and identified the specific funding options to be supported and recommended by the subcommittee, in ranking order:

User fees and fares
Local option sales tax
Local option resort tax
Local option real property tax
Impact fees

In addition to recommending the above funding options, the subcommittee also recommended local communities meet the regional plan requirements before adoption of any or all of these funding options.

Both recommendations are a step in the right direction, but a few more steps are necessary in order for local communities to utilize any or all of these tools to fund their public transportation needs. The Governor's Task Force for Modernizing Transportation Funding now needs to include any or all of these funding options in their full report to the Governor. And, the State Legislature needs to approve legislation that would allow the local communities the ability to utilize any of these funding mechanisms.

Let the members of the Task Force know how important it is for your community to have such tools. Help them understand the value of having these funding options available to meet your community's public transportation needs. You can do this by sending a comment or coming to the next Task Force meeting which is scheduled for Oct. 8.