WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
The St. Joseph County Transportation Authority is asking voters Tuesday to decide whether to renew one-third of a mill to continue operations at their current level.
The Three Rivers-based agency was successful in 2010, 2014 and 2018 in identical requests, supported by roughly a 2-to-1 margin.
Agency director Allen Balog, however, said he is not taking anything for granted and has worked hard to keep the request and its details before voters.
Balog, who was a member of the CTA board for 10 years before joining it as director in October 2020, said the millage generates about $730,000 for the agency that operates on a $2.5 million budget annually.
Without the millage-funded portion of its budget, the CTA would be severely crippled, limited in the depth of services it currently provides, Balog said.
The agency, which has a fleet of 28 vehicles, provided a total of nearly 82,000 rides in 2019. He said ridership is back to 75 percent of its pre-COVID figures.
With advance notice, the CTA will provide free transportation to and from the polls Tuesday.
