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WARREN -- Two Trumbull County commissioners agreed to schedule a public meeting to address public transportation options in the county. The issue of a public meeting is expected to be discussed during today's weekly commissioners meeting.
Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa on Tuesday outlined a meeting he held last week with Western Reserve Transit Authority's Dean Harris; Spencer Smith, urban transit coordinator with the Ohio Department of Transportation; Chuck Dyer, office of transit with the Ohio Department of Transportation; and Trumbull County Transit Administrator Mike Salamone to discuss alternative ways to fund new bus routes in Trumbull County.
Cantalamessa noted the meeting focused on finding other ways to pay for additional routes other than having voters in Mahoning and Trumbull counties agreeing to increase Trumbull's sales tax by a quarter percent. That would result in county residents paying an estimated $7 million a year for public transportation from the money earned.
Earlier this year, Harris announced WRTA did not receive funding from the state that enabled the bus system to provide bus routes into the county, including several that traveled through Howland and Lordstown.
Because of a lack of funding, Western Reserve Transit Authority eliminated five routes traveling from Youngstown into and around Warren. The bus routes cost about $150,000 each to maintain.
One route, Warren Express, was continued because it is profitable.
Commissioner Niki Frenchko argues that the county should join the regional bus system and allow it to place a half percent sales tax on the ballot. The additional sales tax would increase Trumbull's sales tax to match Mahoning County.
Cantalamessa countered, "Putting on a sales tax at this time is not economically feasible."
A vote to financially support WRTA through a sales tax increase would take place in both counties. Cantalamessa argues even if the majority of Trumbull residents voted against the tax increase, Mahoning County, with its larger population, could pass the tax anyway.
"Trumbull County should control its own destiny," Cantalamessa said. "We don't need a $7 million system. We need a $2 million to $3 million system."
The commissioner said that not all of the eliminated fixed routes were used by residents.
Cantalamessa said he prefers a flex fund program in which the state would provide nearly $300,000 and the same amount would be provided by the county, raising $600,000.
Cities, such as Warren and Niles, which had the most residents using the buses, should be required to provide some level of funding to the bus system, he said.
Cantalamessa suggested representatives of the cities that use WRTA the most should send representatives to next week's public meeting, as well as community activists that previously expressed concern about the demise of the fix routes during earlier meetings.
"I think we need commitments from the cities of Warren and Niles, as well as other participating communities, about the dollar amount," he said. "We believe the state should be able to assist."
Cantalamessa said when the county gave up its designation to operate transit, it gave up a lot of federal dollars that would have been used to provide transit.
"We need to have that designation back," Cantalamessa said.
Based on the information they received during last week's meeting, Salamone stated the county could establish a Regional Transit Authority.
"The $296,357 that could be matched would be additional to the funds WRTA is already receiving," Salamone said. "I already set up a meeting with Dean Harris and his staff to see what kind of routes they could come up with."
The new routes would not happen until April 2024 at the earliest.
"Congress still has not passed a budget," he said.