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Palmetto Breeze asks Bluffton for larger local match, warns short staffing could force service cuts
Summary
Palmetto Breeze presented routes and ridership to the council and requested a $313,296 local match for the coming year, warning driver shortages and rising costs could threaten special-event service and service expansion without additional local funding.
Palmetto Breeze representatives told the Bluffton Town Council on May 21 that rising grant awards and operating costs have increased the agency’s local-match requirement and asked the town to consider a larger contribution to avoid cuts to service.
The transit provider requested a $313,296 local match for the coming year, a representative said during a presentation to the council outlining routes, ridership trends, driver shortages and the agency’s role as a regional commuter and paratransit provider. "We're asking for 313,296 for this year," the presenter said.
Palmetto Breeze described growing demand on commuter routes across five counties, paratransit and special-event services, and noted driver shortages that have made late-night and some special-event requests difficult to accommodate. The presenter said June and July events — including a July 4 late-night request — were impacted by driver availability and that the agency prioritizes town-funded partner requests over private nonprofit requests to avoid competing with charter operators.
The presentation stressed that when federal grants increase, the required local match also rises because local share is set as a proportion of the expanded grant. The presenter said donated buses and state grants are helping replace aging vehicles and should lower maintenance costs, but that the operating match still grows with service expansion. "It would really help the transit system to stay alive," the presenter said of the requested funding.
Council members asked questions about the match methodology, whether population or ridership should inform the split among jurisdictions, and whether Palmetto Breeze can bill the town directly when providing partner services; the presenter replied that reimbursement rules and partnership policies govern invoicing and that staff can provide a breakdown of contributions by locality.
Next steps: council members did not take a vote at the workshop. Staff said they will include the transit request in budget deliberations and can return with a funding recommendation or ask Palmetto Breeze to provide a jurisdictional breakdown of the local-match numbers.
