What's the Best Way to Fund Souhegan Valley Rides?

Selectmen are considering the best way to fund the Souhegan Valley Rides' community busing program, as the service continues to see dramatic growth.

The non-emergency community transportation service first began offering chartered rides for residents in Milford, Amherst, Brookline and Hollis in 2008.

In its first year, the group gave nearly 1,000 rides, according to a Monday presentation by Janet Langdell, chair of the Souhegan Valley Transportation Collaborative. But after federal grant funding expanded services to five days a week last year, numbers jumped, Langdell said. This year, the group has given nearly 9,000 rides, she said.

Private donations and grants cover all administrative costs, she said, and provide the roughly $2,000 in funding for a free bus pass program. The remaining costs are covered by local and federal public funds.

The $36,800 in local money required to cover next year's services would be split between the four towns in proportion to the number of residents who use the service, she said.

Currently, 77 percent of users are from Milford, an increase over the previous year. Milford's share of the funding for next year will be $28,100, up roughly $1,500 from the current year, she said.

The local funding would cover a minimum three days of service per week. Langdell said that, if renewed, federal funding would again boost services to five days.

In previous years, voters have approved Souhegan Valley Rides funding as a warrant article at the polls, but Town Administrator Guy Scaife suggested rolling the item into the budget in upcoming years.

"I would hope that the board would consider going forward with the warrant article this year, but in the body of the warrant article include a caption that voters approve this amount and also that it be rolled into the budget for future years and that we treat this as part of our social services budget so that it's not up to the whim," he said.

Selectman Kathy Bauer suggested language that selectmen would consider it for the next year's budget, but not that it was guaranteed.

"Some voters are very reluctant to vote into the future," she said.

Selectmen Chairman Gary Daniels said discussions about funding options would continue as the budget process moves forward.