Council reviews draft IGA with Monmouth to govern joint trolley service, requests edits and more data

Councilors reviewed a draft intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on April 22 that would formalize joint governance of the Monmouth–Independence trolley service. The proposed IGA makes Monmouth the fiscal agent, establishes operations and advisory bodies and sets out roles for both cities.

Staff told the council the trolley project was funded by a $3 million legislative appropriation in 2022 and that Monmouth has served as fiscal agent, purchased vehicles, and built a storage facility. The draft agreement would create a Monmouth–Independence Operations Commission (seven members, including three city employees from each city) to manage day-to-day operations and a Monmouth–Independence Transit Advisory Committee (11 voting positions) to set policy and approve significant budget or service decisions. The IGA states that operations and advisory meetings will be subject to public meeting and records rules.

A resident who said the trolley restored mobility after a life-changing injury described using the service to reach work, medical appointments and social activities and urged the council to preserve the service. Staff and councilors cited other riders who rely on the trolley, including students, people with disabilities and people traveling to local employers or health clinics.

Council discussion focused on oversight and fiscal control. Several members asked why an advisory committee would be given authority over budgets and service targets and urged that major funding requests be routed back through each city’s governing body and through the operations commission for vetting. Councilors also asked staff to clarify who appoints members, whether council members themselves could occupy seats, and whether youth representatives who are 18 should have voting rights.

Data and evaluation were another focus. Staff reported an average ridership metric of about 15 riders per service hour and described surveys showing regular users include seniors, students and non-drivers. Councilors asked for more granular data—trip origins and destinations, stops with greatest demand—and suggested a modest fare, a day pass or a scan card could both raise modest revenue and produce better usage data. Staff warned that implementing a card system or fares would require infrastructure and administrative work.

The IGA provides that buses and major assets would be owned jointly by the two cities and that no additional funds could be expended without advisory-committee approval; staff reiterated that any funding obligations still require each city to approve budgets during its regular process. Councilors asked staff to clarify that chain of approval in the IGA language.

There was no formal vote. Council members directed staff to return with updated IGA language to: clarify advisory committee powers and appointment processes, consider lowering the age threshold for the “senior” designation, add clearer routing of funding proposals back to city budgets, define vote eligibility for youth representatives (18 and older), and provide more ridership and community-use data and anecdotal stories for the public record.