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Macomb holds transit public hearing and authorizes grant application for FY2027 Section 5311 and Downstate assistance
Summary
At a public hearing, the city's transit director outlined FY2027 service hours and a roughly $3.5 million program budget; the council then unanimously approved a resolution to apply for Section 5311 and Downstate Operating Assistance Program funds and authorized the mayor to execute required agreements.
The Macomb City Council held a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Macomb Public Transportation Program and then approved a resolution authorizing application for federal and state operating assistance.
Calabria Petrino, introduced as the city’s director of transit, briefed the council on routes, service hours and the FY27 funding request. Petrino said the program’s fiscal year runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and that the overall budget for the public-transportation program would be about $3,500,000. She said approximately $2,500,000 would come from the Downstate Operating Assistance Program (referred to in the record as DOPE) and about $478,000 from Section 5311; local match contracts were listed as Western Illinois University, McDonough County, Bridgeway, Macomb City Township and the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Petrino confirmed the fixed-route system will remain fare-free, demand-response service will be free for seniors with discounted fares for riders with disabilities, and equipment will meet ADA accessibility requirements.
Following questions to confirm the headline figures, the council considered a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for Section 5311 and Downstate Operating Assistance funds for Go West and the demand-response system for FY2027 and to execute required grant agreements and local matching arrangements. The council adopted the resolution by roll call ('all ayes'), and separately approved acceptance of the special-warranty provisions that are conditions of receipt of Section 5311 funds.
The council also noted that grant applications will be submitted through the state portal (Black Cat) and that the city will continue to serve as the provider for fixed-route, demand-response and central dispatch operations during FY27. The mayor was authorized to execute and file the application and any necessary agreements.
The resolutions passed without recorded opposing votes; the transcript records a unanimous roll-call outcome but does not provide an itemized vote tally in the record.
