County staff asked to include $22,003 for door-to-door transit service; commissioners signaled support

Casper Area Transit presented a request for the county to continue funding its door-to-door "Assist" service that serves elderly and disabled riders in Mills, Evansville and parts of unincorporated Natrona County.

Transit manager Liz Becker (Casper Area Transit) said the system has implemented electronic rider passes and improved ridership data collection. Becker told commissioners the Assist service logged roughly 3,600 door-to-door rides annually for county-area residents and that the system's operating cost per mile is $8.14. Using federal grant match formulas outlined in the presentation, staff computed a county contribution of $22,002.57 for the coming year.

Becker reviewed how FTA (federal transit) grants and state 5311 operating assistance reduce the county's share to roughly 23 percent of the net cost for the county-served passengers. She said the transit agency would prefer an annual contract and asked that the county consider payment by July 1 to align with budget timing; the county attorney and clerk discussed an invoicing date of June 1 as a workable alternative to meet county accounting cutoffs.

Commissioners complimented the transit team for improved data and for a perfect triennial FTA review score. Commissioner Nick Glaesen said the presentation was "the most organized and thoughtful" request the commission had received and indicated support. The county attorney asked for the draft contract to be reviewed to ensure it complied with county procurement and invoicing practices.

Becker said transit will finalize a one-year contract with an exhibit that details ridership and mileage data by community and will work with county staff and counsel to finalize the invoicing schedule and contract language. Commissioners did not take an immediate funding vote at the meeting but asked staff to include the line item in the next budget and to return with a reviewed agreement and invoice timing.