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Committee sets shared-ride taxi cap at 53,000 hours for 2026; budget staff warn of levy pressure
Summary
The Public Works Committee approved reducing the county’s maximum authorized shared-ride taxi hours from 58,000 to 53,000, aligning the cap with recent actual usage and budget planning.
The Washington County Public Works Committee voted to set the county’s maximum authorized shared-ride taxi service at 53,000 annual service hours starting Jan. 1, 2026, a change staff said aligns the authorization with recent usage.
Transit staff explained the current authorized maximum of 58,000 hours was higher than actual usage; in 2024 the program delivered approximately 52,500 service hours and 2025 projections are similar. Staff said the proposed change reduces the authorized maximum by 5,000 hours (about an 8.6% reduction from 58,000), which the county’s fair-increase/service-reduction policy classifies as a minor change. A public notice and flyers were issued; staff reported receiving no written public comments.
Supervisor Hartwig moved to approve the change and Supervisor Vespalik seconded; the committee approved the motion. Staff noted the change is primarily administrative for budget planning and grant submittals rather than an immediate service cut; they said riders’ current service levels should not be reduced by the change as presented.
Budget staff then briefed the committee on funding expectations for 2026–27. They said the county used a mix of ARPA funds, a transit trust fund for vehicle purchases, and sales-tax–derived shared-revenue allocations to smooth costs for recent years. Those sources will largely be exhausted in the next budget cycle: staff estimated a roughly $400,000 levy impact in 2026 and about $450,000 in 2027 under current assumptions. The county is running an RFP for the taxi contract; staff estimated a potential contract-rate increase in the range of 10% as a placeholder until bids are finalized. If contract costs or service hours rise, the levy impact could grow.
Staff said they will return to the committee with actual RFP results and final budget figures in September; they framed the committee’s vote as necessary to align the authorized hours with budgeting and grant assumptions for the coming cycle.
