The larger the contributions, the more say cities get in regional transit

A sign marks an Ozark Regional Transit bus stop Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, on School Avenue in south Fayetteville. Ozark Regional Transit plans to make some improvements to bus stops in 2023. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today's photo gallery. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
A sign marks an Ozark Regional Transit bus stop Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, on School Avenue in south Fayetteville. Ozark Regional Transit plans to make some improvements to bus stops in 2023. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)


SPRINGDALE -- Changes to how the Ozark Regional Transit Authority allots votes to members mean Rogers and Springdale would be able to join Fayetteville in getting more of a say in how the transit provider operates.

The board came up with the idea in 2021 to make voting more representative as it prepared to implement a 10-year public transit improvement plan. The plan, Connect Northwest Arkansas, has a more urban focus.

The move was made to address an urban and rural divide. About 96% of ridership is in the four major Northwest Arkansas cities, and those cities contribute the vast majority of the local money the regional transit receives.

Under the formula, those entities that contribute the most money get more say in how the money is spent. Formal approval is expected at the next meeting, set for February.

"This is where voting positions should align in 2023," Joel Gardner, executive director, told the board in December .

The four original cities -- Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville -- and the four original counties, Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington -- that created the Ozark Regional Transit system are considered legacy partners. Each legacy partner gets one vote. Members receive one additional vote for each $250,000 pledged in yearly contributions.

For 2023, local contributions pledged to Ozark Regional Transit are: Fayetteville, $698,000; Springdale, $526,000; Rogers, $522,000; Bentonville, $220,000; Benton County, $23,000; Washington County, $23,000; and Carroll County/Berryville, $15,000. Madison County does not plan to contribute.

The result is Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers each would have three votes on the board. Bentonville, Benton County, Washington County, Carroll County and Madison County each have one legacy vote.

The previous model gave each member entity one vote, regardless of how much they pitched in.

Votes will be reallocated each year based on pledged contributions for that year. Members will decide whether they want to have multiple representatives or give all their votes to a single representative.


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