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Council approves transit workforce FTE as part of broader recruitment partnerships with Minot State
Summary
Council approved a transit workforce budget amendment and FTE tied to federal urban transit designation and discussed a new Minot State partnership and community-service officer model to recruit police officers; transit motion passed 6–1 and council directed staff to pursue state matching opportunities for the recruitment program.
The Minot City Council voted 6–1 to approve a budget amendment and a full-time equivalent position tied to Phase 1 of a transit workforce analysis, part of the city's shift to an urban transit designation and its compliance with Federal Transit Administration requirements.
Brian (transit staff) told the council that the city—s request for $15 million in state urban transit funding had been reduced in committee but that staff would continue to press for more state assistance. He said ridership has increased recently (up 17% year-to-date, 13% in February) and that expenses and federal requirements for ADA paratransit eligibility are rising.
"This mobility manager position is required because as we move forward with the ADA requirements that we need to do to be in compliance with the FTA," a transit staff member told the council, explaining that certified ADA paratransit eligibility requires application review, release-of-information processing and travel training. The staff member said much of the position's cost is eligible for federal support at an 80/20 split.
The vote on the transit item passed 6–1, with Alderman Samuelson dissenting.
Separately, the council heard a more-developed recruitment proposal from the Minot Police Department and Minot State University. Acting Police Chief Plasas described a plan to recruit Minot State criminal-justice juniors and seniors into part-time community-service officer (CSO) roles, subsidize their junior/senior year tuition and fees, and require a three-year post-hire commitment. Dr. Gary Raybohm, a Minot State criminal-justice professor, described a state Career Builders scholarship program that can match employer contributions and help cover tuition, fees and living expenses for qualifying students.
City Manager Harold said staff would use savings from vacant sworn-officer positions to fund an initial pilot of four students (estimated at roughly $50,000 per student in full costs) and pursue the state match to reduce the city's share. "We would strive to get a lot of those costs covered by the state if we can so the city doesn't bear the full need," Harold said.
Why it matters: Transit compliance with FTA rules affects the city's federal funding eligibility and service model. The police-recruitment partnership is a bid to build a local pipeline into sworn positions and to shift some non-enforcement work to civilians so sworn officers can focus on high-priority duties.
What happens next: Staff will implement the transit FTE and continue state lobbying for transit funding. Police and Minot State will finalize program details and return to council for any needed budget amendments; staff said the CSO pilot can be scaled depending on vacancies and state matches.
