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Transportation director flags funding drops, seeks reclassification and an additional driver
Summary
Elizabeth Wood, Mountain Climber director, told commissioners state and federal transportation funding for the county will decline in FY27; she requested one additional driver FTE and successfully moved to reclassify a current bus driver to a fleet and facility coordinator role to improve grant reimbursement rates and compliance.
Elizabeth Wood, director of Mountain Climber Public Transportation, told the Flathead County commissioners on May 12 that state TransAid and federal pass‑through funding will decline in FY27 and outlined operational and staffing responses.
Wood said TransAid funding is likely to settle at about $176,940 for the county and that the federal award passed through MDT for Mountain Climber will be $886,082, down from roughly $946,000 this year. She said municipal contributions (Whitefish, Kalispell, Columbia Falls) remain nearly unchanged at about $30,000 in total.
Despite the funding declines, Wood said the service has not cut routes or service hours and that ridership is trending upward; she attributed gains to efficiency from new software and staff performance. Wood presented a CIP parking‑lot project budgeted at about $185,000 and said two 9‑passenger Ford Transit vans are on the CIP list.
Personnel: Wood requested an additional FTE (driver) as a sidebar request and proposed reclassifying an existing bus driver into a fleet and facility coordinator role. She said reclassifying the incumbent would change the reimbursement category from 45% to 80% under grant rules and produce a reclassification savings of about $17,356; the local share to hire another driver would be about $24,546, with a net local cost of roughly $7,190 for the additional FTE if approved. The board approved the reclassification and job description for the fleet and facility coordinator; the transcript does not record formal approval of the additional FTE during this meeting.
Why it matters: Declining state and federal funds require local managers to seek efficiencies and to reclassify positions where federal reimbursement rates differ by job classification. The approved reclassification should raise the federal reimbursement share and reduce net local cost for these duties.
Next steps: The reclassification and job description for the fleet and facility coordinator were moved and approved; any additional FTE would require separate approval and budget action.
