Efficiency will drive us out of transit problem
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By Letter to the Editor on April 30, 2021.
Editor: Over the past several months, the Lethbridge Transparency Council has observed that the majority of City of Lethbridge buses are driving around empty, or with only a handful of riders.  Figures from City sources indicate that a fleet of 42 buses (about 36 passenger capacity each) operate on 14 routes, logging around 970,000 kilometres per year. 40% of these are spares.  In 2005, Lethbridge Transit had an annual ridership of 2,555,695 passengers on 25 buses. Expenses for the same year amounted to $6,023,794. With revenues of $2,243,222, the net cost to the taxpayer was $3,780,572 or $1.47 per passenger per ride.
click to enlarge Anna Jo Beck The last year has seen a call to defund the Chicago police and reallocate funds to mental health and community services. And while that call has not been answered, it has placed the city s budget under a magnifying glass. Residents want to have a say in where the money goes and participatory budgeting is a process that gives them that power.
So, what really participatory budgeting? According to Participatory Budgeting Chicago (PB Chicago), a coalition of aldermen, city agencies, community organizations, and residents based out of the University of Illinois Chicago s Great Cities Institute, Participatory budgeting is democracy in action. While budgeting may be in the name, the actual process isn t so much about the budget as it is about engaging with and
Groton The Town Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a fiscal year 2022 budget of $137,736,367, which includes a $7,282,383, or 5.6%, increase over the current year’s budget.
The council sent the proposed spending plan to the Representative Town Meeting for its review and set a tentative tax rate for next year of 25.99 mills, a 0.88-mill increase over the current rate of 25.11 mills. Finance Director Cindy Landry said the council will set a final tax rate once the RTM completes its budget review.
Town Manager John Burt at a public hearing last month had presented a proposed budget of $138,647,317, which was a $8,193,333, or 6.3%, increase over the current year’s budget. Burt said the increases are primarily due to bonds for the Groton 2020 school plan, as well as capital improvement projects, subdivision requests, benefits, new staffing positions and contributions to health and service agencies.
Stafford’s Board of Supervisors adopted its Fiscal Year 2022 Budget and Fiscal Year 2022–31 Capital Improvement Program.
The FY2022 Budget takes effect on July 1, 2021, and includes a tax rate of $0.97 and a personal property tax rate of $6.10. Before this meeting, the Board of Supervisors did vote to advertise the real estate tax rate at $1.01, per the County Administrator’s Proposed Budget.
Federal funding for COVID impacts through the American Rescue Plan Act and increases in the General Assembly budget provided the Board the opportunity to adjust the FY2022 Budget to the lower tax rate while moving forward with several initiatives to help our schools and community recover from this pandemic and move forward with future goals.
NEW PORT RICHEY â Coronavirus-related restrictions loosening and vaccination numbers increasing are resulting in an increase of social gatherings and events.
In an effort to accommodate guests, now and into the future, the New Port Richey City Council voted April 20 to expedite the reconfiguration of the Nebraska Avenue parking lot at a cost not to exceed $90,000.
The 5-0 vote of approval increases the cost of the project by 12.5%, from $721,942.50 to $811,942.50. It also tasks Largo-based Right of Way Contracting LLC to complete the project at least two months sooner, reducing the timeframe from 180 days to 120.
âWe were sensitive to the disruption to the business community and the inconvenience to the public, so we were looking for an expedited schedule,â City Manager Debbie Manns said.