By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
Related Story: Ellis County to join ACCESS funding task force; public transport seeing budget shortfall.
Ellis County commissioners discussed restoring a proposed $50,000 allocation for ACCESS Transportation during Tuesday's budget review, saying the funding could help the organization secure additional state and federal dollars while a county task force continues evaluating its long-term financial needs.
No formal action was taken during Tuesday's meeting, but commissioners expressed support for returning the proposed allocation to a dedicated ACCESS Transportation line item in the fourth draft of the 2027 budget, which will be considered next week. The funding previously had been moved into the county's budget stabilization account while the task force reviewed the organization's finances.
Commissioner Nathan Leiker, who serves on the ACCESS Transportation task force, said the group's meetings have focused on understanding why the public transportation provider's finances have changed in recent years.
"COVID is more or less what happened," Leiker said. "They had some unencumbered cash come in, and they've been living off the reserves while things have changed, and now they're running out of reserves."
Leiker said ACCESS previously generated additional revenue through its Safe Ride program, which ended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the organization has relied on reserve funds while ridership patterns and revenue sources have changed.
He said the task force is examining several options to improve the organization's finances, including reducing the number of larger buses in the fleet, evaluating fixed routes and adjusting services to better reflect where riders are located. The organization also recently eliminated Sunday service as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
To view the story of the Sunday Service being eliminated, click here.
Leiker said he believes restoring the county's proposed $50,000 allocation would give the task force time to complete its work without jeopardizing ACCESS's ability to leverage additional funding.
"I would ask we put it back in as the ACCESS line item for $50,000 to give the task force time to get this cleared up and get it figured out," Leiker said. "We've got some positive... ways that we're looking at that could take care of this."
County Administrator Darin Myers said restoring the line item would not require the county to provide the money immediately.
"If nothing comes of it, then the money doesn't get spent," Myers said. "It just sits there and goes into unencumbered cash."
Myers said including the allocation as a dedicated budget line would allow ACCESS to demonstrate local financial support when applying for state and federal matching funds. Without a designated county contribution, the organization could have difficulty leveraging those additional dollars.
Commissioners made no formal changes to the proposed budget Tuesday. The fourth draft of the 2027 budget, including any recommended revisions, will be presented for consideration during the commission's Aug. 11 meeting.