Legislature continues to debate transit funding request
April 28, 2009
Thank you to everyone who has written letters, made phone calls or even visited their elected officials on this important issue!
The push continues and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is still working to convince our state legislators to keep our bus service fully funded with a one-time appropriation from the stimulus funds. You can help by contacting the key legislators listed below and asking them to support the KCATA’s formal request for a one-time appropriation to KCATA of $14 million in order to avoid critical bus service reductions.
We must keep the pressure on! The legislature will be considering this issue this week, and our elected officials need to hear from Kansas Citians that public transit is important. Please contact your elected officials today and forward this e-mail on to anyone who lives in Kansas City and might be supportive. St. Louis has been very vocal and it’s time that Kansas City residents also show our support for transit in Kansas City.
Please use the sample message below and the background information to call or e-mail key elected officials asking them to support transit and the KCATA’s one-time funding request. Please personalize the message as much as possible. f you represent an organization, please encourage your members to also send their own personal messages to Jefferson City!
We have provided the contact information and additional background below.
Contact Meghan Jansen at 816-214-0283 if you have questions. We appreciate your support!
Sample Message to Key Elected Officials
Dear [title/name],
Please support the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s one-time funding request of $14 million, so that we can avoid critical bus service reductions in Kansas City. This request would allow the KCATA to put off cuts until 2011, giving them time to find a long-term solution.
Our community values public transit. Bus ridership was at a 20-year high in 2008, and our community has voted twice in five years to pay for transit. We will continue to do our part, but we need the one-time funding to ensure we can continue to provide reliable transit. Our elected officials are studying the feasibility of bringing even more transit options to regional citizens.
It is both ironic and tragic that at a time when public transit ridership has been soaring, and at a time when working families are seeking cost-effective alternatives to automobile ownership, the state’s two largest metropolitan areas are facing a financial crisis resulting in less public transit access to those who need it the most.
This appropriations request is critical to avoiding devastating service reductions and to keep the positive momentum established the past few years. We are not seeking a hand-out, but rather an investment in mobility options as we plan for our regional transportation future.
Please support the KCATA’s one-time funding request of $14 million so we can maintain bus service for those who need it most!
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Address]
Please send your message to the following key contacts. You can copy and paste each e-mail address:
Senator Charlie Shields
President Pro-Tem, Missouri Senate
charlie_shields@senate.mo.gov
(573) 751-9476
Senator Gary Nodler
Senate Appropriations Chair
Gary_Nodler@senate.mo.gov
(573) 751-2306
Senator Yvonne Wilson
State Senator, Member of Appropriations Committee
Yvonne.Wilson@senate.mo.gov
(573) 751-9758
Representative Shalonn “Kiki” Curls
Shalonn.Curls@house.mo.gov
(573) 751-3158
Representative Ryan Silvey
Ryan.Silvey@house.mo.gov
(573) 751-5282
Representative Bryan Pratt
Bryan.Pratt@house.mo.gov
(573) 751-8636
Honorable Jay Nixon
Governor, State of Missouri
http://governor.mo.gov/contact/
(573) 751-3222
It would be great to also send e-mails and letters to the House Budget and Senate Appropriations Committee members, if your schedule allows. Please make sure you copy your individual senators and representatives. You can find your representatives by visiting the e-mail address below and entering your zip code here.
House Budget Committee members
Senate Appropriation Committee members
Background
- Like transit systems across the country, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is facing a $9.3 million shortfall beginning May 1, 2009, as a result of lowered sales tax allocations from Kansas City. KCATA estimates that this shortfall could be as much as $10 million beginning in May 2010.
- KCATA held four public meetings to describe how approximately 10% of the already limited public transit services available to Kansas City residents will be reduced. Much like St. Louis, these cuts will hurt working families, low-wage workers, and elderly and disabled residents the most. Over 60% of trips are for work purposes. Cuts in transportation will further exacerbate a weak employment picture and adversely affect employees and employers.
- St. Louis METRO requested a one-time appropriation of $35 million from the Missouri legislature. METRO has stated that the funding would be used to restore service cuts already made, and bide time until a local election could be held again in 2010. (A local referendum was defeated in 2008).
- KCATA has also submitted a formal request for a one-time appropriation to KCATA of $14 million in order to avoid critical bus service reductions.
- As a result of drastically weakening local sales taxes, KCATA is planning service reductions of approximately 10% of our service effective June 28, 2009. While KCATA's service cuts are not yet as severe as those faced at METRO, they are very real and very significant for those most directly impacted. These reductions will hurt working families, low wage earners and elderly and disabled citizens the hardest.
- If the one-time appropriation is granted, it will stave off service reductions until at least 2011 and provide value time to seek longer term financial solutions for this critical service. It will provide some time for the economy to recover and sales tax collections to return back to a manageable level.
- Public transit is important to the Kansas City region. We saw our highest ridership in almost 20 years in 2008. Our citizens have voted twice in five years to pay for transit. And our elected officials are studying the feasibility of bringing even more transit options to regional citizens.
