SPRINGDALE -- Ozark Regional Transit officials said Thursday they need to go to voters in the four major cities sooner rather than later with a proposal for a dedicated sales tax to pay for expanding public transit.
"I believe it's really time for us to push forward with this," said Joel Gardner, executive director. "I think that if we wait another year, a concept of catch-up will never really occur. We'll be so far behind anything that we do will be taxed. Our performance levels will be taxed to the limits on a regular basis. We re operating at 100% of vehicle usage right now."
State law allows a sales tax of up to one-quarter cent for public transit, if approved by voters. An attempt to pass a sales tax in Washington County to pay for transit in 2012 was soundly rejected by voters. Benton County refused to put the issue on the ballot.
Ozark Regional Transit board members have said this time around they're not planning to approach the counties, focusing instead on Bentonville, Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers where the vast majority of transit services are offered.
Gardner said he's down three vehicles right now, one to a traffic accident, one to a blown head gasket and another to scheduled retrofitting. Getting replacements and getting new rolling stock is taking 18 months to two years. Finding enough drivers also remains a headwind.
Gardner said Ozark Regional Transit needs to get the fixed-route and on-demand zones established now, according to the 10-year development plan, and the only way to do that is adequate funding.
Board members said they don't know yet how receptive their respective cities may be to putting the issue on the ballot.
Finding a dedicated money source is one of the primary recommendations of Connect Northwest Arkansas, a 10-year development plan for public transit in the region adopted by Ozark Regional Transit and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission last year.
Tom Kieklak, attorney for Ozark Regional Transit, said Thursday in-house resources, employees or money cannot legally be used to lobby for a money source, although employees could advocate for the measure on their time off, if they so choose. Board members are also free to advocate for it.
Gardner and Kieklak said there will have to be some kind of outside organization, such as a nonprofit group, formed to initiate and spearhead any campaign. The group could include board members, stakeholders or other outside groups.
Ryan Carr, who represents Springdale and is board chairman, said lots of questions remain unanswered right now, such as what time of year to seek a vote and whether to hire a consultant to help lead the effort.