Valley Regional Transit asks Caldwell for modest budget increase, proposes multiyear funding agreement

Valley Regional Transit presenters asked the Caldwell City Council at a workshop to include a modest increase — roughly $12,000 — in this year’s municipal contribution and said a multiyear funding agreement would help stabilize service and capital planning.

The request came during a presentation by Elaine, a Valley Regional Transit representative, who summarized recent outreach, ridership trends and a capital maintenance backlog that VRT said it plans to reduce over about three years. “This last year has been one of growth for VRT,” Elaine said, and she described an approach that would set a funding floor and a growth factor so both the city and VRT can plan more predictably.

VRT told the council it conducted Canyon County outreach, including a Transit Day that drew 53 in-person participants and 181 survey responses (43 from Caldwell). The agency said 90% of respondents supported local-government funding for public transportation and 60% recommended expanding transit service in Canyon County.

VRT reported systemwide public-transportation use (fixed route, on-demand and access services) was up about 5% year over year; fixed-route ridership for routes serving Caldwell rose about 15% after a reconfiguration last year. The agency said on-demand ridership declined and is under review; access rides and some other programs increased. VRT attributed some on-demand decline to scheduling and seat-availability issues and said it has adjusted its booking software to steer callers to fixed routes when appropriate.

On capital needs, VRT said it has a backlog of larger maintenance and repair projects and is asking for a small increase in local operating and capital support to begin reducing that backlog over several years. Elaine said the proposal is not a large, one-time demand but a modest growth request tied to a capital-improvement strategy. “We think that strategy over about a three-year period, we can reduce that capital backlog that we've been facing in Canyon County,” she said.

A central part of VRT’s pitch was a longer-term agreement such as a memorandum of understanding that would establish a funding “floor” (for example, on a per-person basis or as a percentage of budget) and a process for adjustments. Elaine said such an agreement could include communication expectations and periodic reporting to city staff, which would reduce the “surprise” of mid-term funding changes and allow joint planning of service and capital work.

Council members asked questions about how to set a stable contribution. Councilor Williams said a modest, fixed percentage (she mentioned 3% in discussion) would be easy to budget for but voiced concern about committing funds in a year when the city is limiting employee cost-of-living adjustments. “My only fear… is a year like this where we're not even giving our employees a 3% cola,” Williams said, while adding she supported continuing discussions and praised VRT’s willingness to work with city staff.

Councilor Ginber asked whether the county’s ridership increases represented strong growth; Elaine said the 4–5% overall uptick is a positive sign and highlighted the 15% rise on the two fixed routes that serve Caldwell as especially promising. Councilor Olga asked whether VRT could temporarily reallocate or extend service hours for downtown events; Elaine said VRT can extend hours on existing routes for events and could work with the city on event-related service and advertising arrangements.

No formal action or vote occurred; VRT asked the council to include the modest increase in the city’s budget and requested authorization to work with city staff (including budget staff) to develop a proposed multiyear agreement. Councilors directed staff to continue discussions and to consider the request during the city’s budget process.

VRT also noted it partners with Treasure Valley Transit for Medicaid non-emergency rides and that some services (for example, event extensions and advertising opportunities) can be structured in ways that comply with federal transit rules.

The council did not adopt any ordinance or binding agreement at the workshop. VRT said it will work with city staff and return with options for the council to consider during the budget cycle.