DES MOINES, Iowa — A one-time funding award from the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for $3.6 million is helping DART avoid service cuts over the next two years.
"There's like a little bit of a sigh of relief for a little bit, and then tomorrow we got to get up and get back to work to keep finding solutions," said Amanda Wanke, CEO of DART.
It is what comes after the two years that is raising concerns; in 2027, DART will be facing a near $2 million deficit.
"We need to be working hard over that two-year period to go through the study, to try to identify more efficient, effective way to deliver transportation services that's more cost effective for our taxpayers," said Russ Trimble, chair of DART and mayor of West Des Moines.
DART was initially facing these budget deficits because of changes to funding formulas.
"There was a new funding formula that has changed how much cities contribute to DART to better align costs and benefit to those communities, and at the same time expenses are growing faster than revenue," Wanke said.
Des Moines being one of the larger cities utilizing DART services resulted in the city needing to contribute more funding.
"Des Moines' contribution was going up significantly, about $7.6 million to pay for their service over an eight-year period," Trimble said. "That left a shortfall, and Des Moines was working through trying to figure out how to pay for that."
DART board commissioners were concerned about how Des Moines' actions would impact other DART serviced cities, addressing those concerns at Tuesday's meeting.
"We just talked how great it was that all of these communities came together to fill this hole, for the region, but ultimately, the hole was there because of Des Moines' inability and unwillingness to contribute their portion of the funding formula," said Bridget Montgomery, Urbandale City Council Member.
DART acknowledged that riders travel between cities, and they want to work towards a long-term funding solution.
"We need to work together as a region, that is extremely important," Trimble said. "We are one region and we need to come together, remembering the riders and the taxpayers to come up with a solution."
Despite the extra funding, DART is still expecting to see possible cuts to the D-Line service, which services from the Iowa State House to the Western Gateway. DART says there will be a public hearing and vote prior to making those cuts.