OCTOBER 23, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9
TAX: ‘If what the community sees
is signifi cant, it will be supported.’
(Continued from pg. A1)
“For some small employers,
any amount is signifi cant so
they are passionate,” Vobora
added. “Bigger businesses don’t
see it as a big deal, since it’s part
of being in the community.
In the middle, some see it as
not a big deal and others say
we shouldn’t subsidize public
transit. Those dynamics over
the years haven’t changed.”
One thing that has changed
over the years has been the
level of LTD service, but
even their pared back level of
service would make Salem-
Keizer Transit offi cials take
notice. Cuts in 2004 meant
the latest buses Monday
through Saturday left at 10:45
p.m. Restoring more service
this year means the latest buses
leave at 11:45 p.m. Monday
through Friday (and Saturday
next year). Sunday service runs
from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
That’s a big difference in
service from what Salem-
Keizer Transit offers. Currently
service here ends at 9 p.m.,
with no weekend service.
Passage of the the ballot
measure 24-388 would extend
service until 11 p.m. during
the week. Cherriots general
manager Allan Pollock said
weekend service hours aren’t
certain yet.
“The fi nal exact times
haven’t been fi nalized but
the draft plan generally has
Saturday starting at 7 a.m. and
ending at 9 p.m.,” Pollock said.
“Sunday would start at 8 a.m.
and end at 7 p.m.”
Another change in Eugene-
Springfi eld is faster service.
In 2007, LTD started the
Emerald Express (EmX) rapid
transit system, connecting
downtown Eugene with
downtown Springfi eld. The
service was expanded in
Springfi eld in 2011 and is
scheduled to expand to west
Eugene in 2017. The cost
of that expansion is pegged
at close to $100 million; the
Federal Transit Authority last
month announced plans to
fund $75 million of that.
With EmX, buses come
every 10 minutes and travel in
part along specifi c EmX lanes
paid for with federal money.
Vobora said LTD gets $7.6
million a year in fares, which
helps the transit district get
$6.1 million in federal formula
funds, which are used for
capital projects like buses and
buildings. For example, the
EmX buses are separate from
regular LTD buses and new
stations have been built for the
extended service.
“The funding can be
fl exed, so it can be used for
maintenance as well as buses,”
Vobora said. “It become
operating revenue. Out of the
$6.1 million in formula funds,
we fl ex over $4 million into
the general fund, mainly for
maintenance.”
During a community
conversation last month, one
suggestion for bringing more
transit revenue for Cherriots
was putting advertising on
buses. Robert Krebs, chair of
the transit board, said costs
to administer an advertising
program cost more than the
program was bringing in, so
that was scrapped.
Vobora said LTD uses Lamar
Advertising, which used to
handle the Cherriots account
as well. All told, Vobora said
LTD brings in about $410,000
a year in bus advertising. That
includes a separate amount for
a EmX-specifi c contract.
“Lamar had a hard time
selling ads for EmX, since
we had it at a higher cost
to keep the buses looking
sleek,” Vobora said. “When we
rewrote the contract in 2013,
I carved out the EmX fl eet
and sold that to the University
of Oregon directly. That’s a
separate contract with the
UO and then they work with
Lamar to do the placement.
We get about $150,000 for
that.”
Having the UO in Eugene
highlights one of the key
differences between LTD and
Cherriots: LTD doesn’t have
much state government use to
depend on, while Cherriots
gets much higher revenue in
that category while having a far
lower student population than
Craig Murphy fi le photo
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio drives an LTD EmX bus at the January
2011 opening of the new Gateway station in Springfi eld.
the UO provides LTD. State
employees have a .6 percent
tax to fund transit through the
Mass Transit Assessment fund.
That pays about $5 million a
year to Cherriots. By contrast,
Vobora said LTD gets about
$200,000 from the fund. The
fund used to pay LTD about
$1.5 million a year when UO
employees were considered
state workers, but that funding
is now part of the payroll tax
with the university’s current
governmental structure.
Vobora
acknowledges
starting a new payroll tax now
would be a tough sell.
“It would be interesting,”
he said. “Businesses are feeling
that with new regulations like
sick leave and the minimum
wage increase, everything
piles up on them. It would be
a harder sell to the business
community at this point. It
would be a good discussion.
If what the community sees is
signifi cant, it will be supported.
“Part of that is the education
about what the rate equates to
and what the average business
would pay,” he added. “We
did focus groups this year, to
get business people to know
all the details of where their
money goes. When you show
them the numbers, the average
payroll tax doesn’t pay a
signifi cant amount of money.
(In Salem-Keizer), having
people understand what that
amount is is helpful in the
dialogue.”
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