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City manager recommends pausing municipal transit as grants fall short and staffing lags
Summary
City Manager Scott Mitten told the Portalis City Council the municipal Portalis Area Transit System (PATS) is operating at a structural deficit, with low ridership, high per-trip costs and unstable grant support; he recommended a temporary suspension until funding, staffing and compliance can be secured.
City Manager Scott Mitten urged the Portalis City Council to consider a temporary suspension of the Portalis Area Transit System, saying the program faces a structural funding gap, regulatory burdens and staffing shortages that make the service unsustainable in its current form.
"We don't have enough money to make this happen," Mitten said during a discussion item, citing a past outfitting cost of about $365,520 and fare revenue near $4,360 a year. He told council the system currently runs a municipal operating deficit of roughly $140,000 and that a single trip costs about $25–$26, with the city's average subsidy about $10 per trip.
Why it matters: Councilors and staff framed PATS as a service relied on by seniors, veterans and transit-dependent residents but noted the city must balance that service against other fiscal priorities. Mitten emphasized that when state and federal grants fall short the city must subsidize the program out of general funds.
Details and debate: Mitten described operational challenges including recruitment and retention of drivers, extensive administrative and regulatory requirements for transit operations, and inconsistent grant awards that forced service cuts in recent years. He said annual usage figures cited in the presentation ranged from about 4,877 to roughly 6,000 trips and that the program cannot be relied on as a predictable, self-sustaining service.
Several council members supported a pause while staff form a working group to pursue alternatives. "If we're going to ask our citizens to pay a big increase ... we can't say, 'Well, not that one,'" one councilor said, arguing the city must be fair across services. Others requested further analysis on potential grant clawbacks and the demographic mix of riders before deciding next steps.
No vote was taken. Mitten recommended staff research the fiscal and regulatory risks of suspension, potential impacts on existing grants and whether routes or partnering agencies could provide alternatives. The council left the item as a discussion with interest in forming a working group to probe options and report back.
