Committee gives conditional support to countywide transit authority while seeking protections for Takata

Benton Harbor's personnel and finance committee on Tuesday agreed to forward a conditional resolution backing the creation of a countywide Act 196 transit authority, provided written protections keep the city's Takata service, equipment and local drivers intact.

The committee heard from the city manager, who said county and municipal leaders have discussed forming a new Act 196 entity that would receive federal and Michigan Department of Transportation funding and then contract back with local operators. "I just flatly refuse to do that," the city manager said of any arrangement that would pull the city's buses and drivers away from local service. He recommended the commission approve a resolution to support the authority so work can proceed on the formal articles of incorporation.

Committee members said the protection must be concrete. Commissioner Fields said she and others pressed county negotiators for limits on board composition and contractual language so Benton Harbor retains control over its operations. "That is not in writing," Fields said; "the proof will be in the writing." The committee also discussed timing: the city manager outlined that federal and MDOT "new starts" funding would cover the first year of operations for newly served units, with reduced support in later years, creating urgency to form the authority and pursue a millage renewal.

Why it matters: Benton Harbor relies on locally managed transit to connect residents to jobs, medical appointments and services. Commissioners said that without explicit protections the city risks weakened service or losing control of assets if funding is routed elsewhere.

Details and debate: The city manager described a proposed makeup for the new authority's board that would limit Benton Harbor to three seats and the county and other jurisdictions to representation proportional to their contributions; commissioners warned against a voting imbalance that would allow outside partners to outvote the city. The manager said the new authority would receive federal and state funds and then contract with local operators to deliver service, rather than requiring Benton Harbor to send drawdowns directly to federal offices.

Speakers at the meeting also noted service improvements since the city contracted with Via for operations, saying on-time performance and customer wait times have improved, and that those improvements strengthened the city's negotiating position. Still, commissioners insisted the articles of incorporation and any contracts explicitly preserve Takata operations and local decision-making.

Next steps: The committee reached consensus to "smooth that forward" the conditional resolution for further documentation. Commissioners said they expect the protective language to be included in the authority's articles of incorporation before the city commits to permanent changes; a millage renewal will also be required (the current millage expires in November of next year).