STEUBENVILLE — Come the Nov. 5 general election, Jefferson County voters will decide the fate of a proposed tax levy renewal and increase benefiting the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority.

Voters are being asked to approve the renewal of an existing 1.5-mill levy, this time with an increase of 0.5 mills. Revenue, which will be collected through Jefferson County property owners’ bi-annual property taxes, will be used by SVRTA for all purposes other than bond debt charges, according to official ballot language.

The Jefferson County Auditor estimates the proposed levy will collect $751,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 2 mills for each $1 of a property’s assessed value. That amounts to $61 for each $100,000 of assessed value.

A majority affirmative vote is needed for the levy to pass. If approved by voters, the levy would commence in 2025 — with the first payments due in 2026 — and continue for 10 years.

SVRTA formed in 1995 through a Steubenville-Mingo Junction municipal partnership that would later add Wintersville. During the last 30 years, the authority has never asked for an increase in its levy’s millage rate — a fact that Assistant Transit Manager Heather Dinger said illustrates “how well we manage our money.”

But rising costs felt across the nation, as well as the desire to expand services, has led SVRTA to ask for that additional 0.5 mills this year.

SVRTA provides public transportation services among the communities of Steubenville, Wintersville, Mingo Junction and Rayland, as well as to areas in Robinson Township, Pa. Those services are “essential” for local residents, who rely on SVRTA busses to reach jobs, school, medical appointments, grocery stores and entertainment events, according to Wayne Ruckman, one of the Mingo Junction’s two appointments to the authority’s board of directors.

“Without the levy, the SVRTA will face significant challenges in continuing its operations at current levels and greatly hinder any future expansion,” Ruckman said. “The passage of this levy will ensure that SVRTA can continue to offer reliable, affordable and easily accessible transportation options to everyone in our region.”

Transit Manager Tim Turner said levy revenue covers all aspects of SVRTA’s operation, from wages and insurance to maintenance costs. Currently, the 1.5-mill levy collects around $540,000 per year, which is roughly 15 percent of SVRTA’s yearly $3.5 million operational budget. However, Turner noted, the levy money provides the local match that’s critical for receiving additional federal and state dollars.

“We do get some state dollars, a governor’s apportionment, that kind of takes the place of the local match, but it’s not always there, and it’s not a guaranteed amount of money,” Turner said. “So (the levy’s failure to pass) would definitely be a detriment to the SVRTA. We would have to look at cutting service somewhere along the line because we would never get enough money to sustain operation, not at the level we do now.”

Dinger said SVRTA’s ridership sits around 176,000 rides, and it’s “steadily growing” through individuals who cannot afford their own vehicles or those who want to save money by taking public transportation.

SVRTA frequently converses with potential partners to investigate new connections, Turner said. However, with its current available funds, the authority is at capacity for services, prohibited by the cost of purchasing more buses and adding drivers. Therefore, expansions must be put on hold until additional funds become available — possibly through the increased renewal levy.

“We’re able to handle what we’re doing right now, but we’ve got a couple inquiries” Turner said. “We’ll look into it. We’ll never say no to anybody, but we have to find additional funding to be able to pull that off. And we look at how we can sustain it long-term. … Once (we) do something, we want it to be permanent.”

SVRTA’s prospects for expansions reportedly include re-establishing a downtown Weirton connection, reaching parts of Cross Creek and other currently unserved areas of the county and offering service to more industrial parks. Through partnerships with other transit authorities, SVRTA busses already reach Robinson Township and its Findlay Industrial Park, providing individuals from as far as Wheeling an opportunity to work at the Amazon distribution center or continue to downtown Pittsburgh.

Susan Hogue, a member of SVRTA’s board of directors, noted that SVRTA is investigating what can be done with the property it owns on Adams Street, across from the authority’s Steubenville multi-modal center. That property has been checked for legacy environmental impacts, and SVRTA hopes to have those impacts cleared to either sell the property or install charging stations for potential electric buses.

But new developments require funds, as does maintaining what the authority already has.

SVRTA currently operates 13 Ford Eldorado buses and two MV-1 complementary paratransit vans. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner said, it was common practice to replace two buses on average per year.

Buying buses through the state, the cost pre-COVID was $91,500 per vehicle, Turner said, but various issues have ballooned the price to $176,000 per bus.

SVRTA has not purchased a new bus since 2019, and five vehicles are set to be replaced, Turner said, adding that two of those five have clocked more than 350,000 miles each. Reaching those numbers is “almost unheard of” for a transit system of SVRTA’s size, though the authority’s garage staff has been keeping those vehicles clean and running well, against the odds.

“If you saw them, you wouldn’t think they had that kind of mileage,” Dinger added.

Turner said funds are starting to become available to get some replacement buses, though it’ll take that increased levy revenue to cover the increased costs, along with the cost of parts, fuel and wages, which have also gone up.

SVRTA does receive around $50,000 in fares per year, Turner said. But with 50 cents per ride and $40 for a yearly bus pass that grants unlimited rides, Turner said the authority’s fares are much cheaper than surrounding authorities’ prices.

Turner said the low fare prices are like a deductible for taxpayers, who can enjoy the benefits of the bus system for little more after paying into it initially. Dinger said SVRTA can afford to offer such low prices because of the levy, noting that other trans authorities without levies tend to charge much more for individual rides.

Dinger said SVRTA’s services create value in the community — benefiting the aging population by giving them access to their needs and allowing them to continue living at home.

She referenced the Ohio Department of Transportation’s 2023 study on social return on public transit and transportation investment in the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association region, which includes Jefferson County and other counties. That study found that, for every $1 invested in OMEGA-region public transportation providers in 2022, between $5.43 and $9.13 in social value was created for stakeholders based on increased access to jobs, health care and independent living support.

SVRTA invites individuals with questions about the levy to call the authority’s office at (740) 282-6145 or attend its monthly board meetings, which take place on the third Thursday of every month at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room at 555 Adams St., Steubenville.

Polls in Jefferson County will be open election day from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. In-person absentee voting will be available between Oct. 8 and Nov. 3 at the Jefferson County Board of Elections office, located on the first floor of the Jefferson County Towers Building.