HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpec Transportation Fund RecommendationsDate: August 21, 2008
To: Deschutes County Board of Commissioners
From: Judith Ure, Management Analyst
Subject: Special Transportation Fund Advisory Committee Recommendations
Special Transportation Fund Formula Grant Process
Each year, Deschutes County receives an allocation from the Oregon Department of
Transportation's (ODOT) Special Transportation Fund (STF) Formula Grant Program for the
purpose of supporting transportation services for the elderly and people with disabilities. These
funds are then distributed by the County to local service providers through a competitive grant
process. Applications are reviewed by the County's STF Advisory Committee which then
formulates a recommendation for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners. Upon
Board approval, staff prepares an application to ODOT as required to receive the funds and
begins the process of preparing individual contracts with recipient agencies under the direction
of the County Administrator as the delegated legal signatory for STF activities.
STF formula grant funds are made available on a fiscal year basis that begins on July 1.
Approved recipients of grant funds are reimbursed quarterly after submitting status reports that
detail revenue and expenses, trips provided, hours and miles driven, equipment operated, and
accident history for the period. In previous years, STF formula grants were awarded before July,
providing recipients with advance assurance that costs related to applicable services would be
reimbursed. A process currently underway to assess the eligibility of one of the applicant
agencies interrupted this year's STF formula grant award decisions. That process is not yet
complete however, and with the end of the first quarter approaching, the County must now
proceed without further delay.
Special Transportation Fund Advisory Committee Recommendations
Deschutes County's fiscal year 2008-09 STF formula allocation from ODOT totals $268,927.
An additional $35,248 is available as carryover from 2007-08 in the County's STF program fund
from interest earnings and previous unclaimed grant awards, bringing the total to $304,175. Of
this, $2,000 will be retained by the County to offset administrative expenses related to the
program and $27,175 will be reserved for contingency purposes. As a result, the amount
available for STF formula grants in 2008-09 is approximately $275,000.
Deschutes County received six applications for fiscal year 2008-09 STF formula grant funds
which totaled $325,002. All of this year's applicant agencies have been awarded STF formula
grants by Deschutes County in the past, with the exception of the Central Oregon
Intergovernmental Council (COIC), which recently assumed responsibility for transportation
services previously provided by the Central Oregon Council on Aging (COCOA), a prior
recipient of STF formula grant funding for many years.
The Deschutes County STF Advisory Committee met twice in June to review applications for
funding and to develop a recommendation for STF distribution. At one of the meetings,
applicant agencies were given an opportunity to further describe their services and requests for
funding. The Committee's recommendation, which appears below, along with a history of past
awards, is based on the amount available for distribution, information provided by the applicants,
and priorities identified in the Deschutes County Coordinated Human Services Transportation
Plan.
Agency
2003-04
Award
2004-05
Award
2005-06
Award
2006-07
Award
2007-08
Award
2008-09
Recommendation
Bend Dial -A -Ride*
129,500
135,975
140,950
140,950
142,280
138,795
Central Oregon Council on Aging
44,050
46,253
47,555
47,555
49,113
0
Central Oregon Resources for
Independent Living
9,400
9,870
10,163
10,163
10,764
11,374
Opportunity Foundation
18,900
19,845
20,583
20,583
22,384
22,499
Residential Assistance Program
6,150
6,458
6,573
6,573
0
0
Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers
12,150
12,758
11,025
11,025
0
0
DHS Volunteer Services
10,500
11,025
12,758
12,758
13,482
13,384
Central Cascade Lines
0
0
0
0
41,409
36,345
Central Oregon Intergovernmental
Council
0
0
0
0
0
52,604
Total
230,650
242,184
249,607 249,607
279,432
275,001
*During the fiscal year 2007-08 process, an additional $5,250 per year for a two-year period was awarded to Bend
Dial -a -Ride for services to specific individuals living outside the current service boundaries. Although that
allocation will appear on the County's application to ODOT, it represents a prior commitment and did not factor int
this year's award process.
Amendment to Recommendation
As previously noted, this year's STF formula grant award process was delayed to accommodate
a review of one of the applicant agencies to determine its eligibility to receive certain public
funds. Central Cascade Lines, Inc. (CCL), the subject of that review, submitted an application
for fiscal year 2008-09 STF formula grant funds and was recommended for funding by the STF
Advisory Committee. CCL subsequently suspended its services, calling into question the
validity of its application. Based on the suspension of services, Deschutes County Legal Counso 1
and the County Administrator advised reopening the STF formula grant process. Since that time;,
CCL has resumed its services eliminating the need to take such action.
However, the question of CCL's eligibility to receive public funding, including STF formula
grants, has not yet been resolved. As noted in section 732-005-0076 of the State Management
Plan for Public Transportation Programs, eligible recipients of STF funds must meet the
following qualifications, among others:
• Have the legal, managerial, and operational capacity to perform the project.
• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations including, and not
limited to, those pertaining to passenger transportation, civil rights, labor, insurance, safety
and health.
The State Management Plan further note that if a recipient is identified as ineligible to receive
other funds offered by the state or federal government resulting from a failure to meet the
specified criteria, the recipient may be ineligible to receive STF funds. If a recipient is found to
be ineligible after receiving STF program funds, it may be required to repay the amount received
during the period of ineligibility.
While the process to determine CCL's eligibility as described above is currently underway, it
will not be completed until sometime in September at the earliest, and may well extend beyond
that time. A further delay in awarding STF formula grant funds until that process is completed
would unnecessarily and unfairly create uncertainty for the other recommended STF formula
grant recipients.
As a result, staff proposes that all of the STF Advisory Committee's recommendations be
approved at this time with the exception of CCL. The proposed CCL allocation can be held in
reserve until the eligibility issues are resolved. If CCL is found to be eligible, the County's
application to ODOT can be amended to reflect an award. If not, the County can make a
decision regarding the disposition of the reserved funds. Options could include carrying over the
funds to the next grant cycle, soliciting new applications for the reserved funds only, or
allocating the funds directly to an alternative provider to perform the same or similar services.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Board of Commissioners approve the recommendations of the STF
Advisory Committee as amended by staff and to authorize the Board Chair to sign the County's
Special Transportation Fund Formula Program application to ODOT when available.