Minutes 03-17-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bret Martin said when people register for transportation their address will be on their application, and this will help staff determine their eligibility for services. Commissioner Pelissier asked if the source of funding is the half cent sales tax, or if this is additional money that was previously approved. Bret Martin said because ADA services are part of normal operating costs, this should already be included. He said the amount he listed is based on what is in the ADA plan. He said a lot of ADA routes are provided through deviation from existing fixed routes. He said this is not an additional cost. Commissioner Price asked about the pay. She referred to the top of page 3 in attachment one. She said there is a reference to the doubling of the fare for someone who needs the ADA service, and she said this seems discriminatory. She asked if the extra pay is necessary to sustain the service. Bret Martin said it costs more than twice as much to provide a trip for a handicapped person. He said another part of this is to disincentive this service when it is not needed, and to financially incentivize people who are capable of making it to a fixed route stop to do so. Craig Benedict said the fee structure can be set by the Board of Commissioners. He said the alternative to the increased fee is to potentially use more general fund balance to support that service. Commissioner Price said her thought is that a lot of the people using the service are doing so because they cannot afford a car. She asked if there would be subsidies available for fares. Bret Martin said customers could be eligible for Medicaid for transportation to physician appointments. He said when the Board of County Commissioners adopted the 5 year expansion plan they adopted a consideration of subsidies for residents who are already certified for programs through Department of Social Services (DSS). He said there will be quite a few ADA individuals who fall into this category. Commissioner Price said she feels it is discriminatory to require someone to pay double because of a disability. Commissioner Price asked for clarification on the hours. She asked if the windows listed will be the only times someone could ride a bus to get back home. Bret Martin said yes, right now, because of the routes provided. He said this will be expanding. Commissioner Price asked about the determination of ineligibility and appeals, and whether the federal law specifies that the hearing officer must be the OPT administrator, or that the decision is final. Bret Martin said federal law does not require this to be any specific person. He said the guideline does say that the appeals officer must be different than the person who made the initial determination. He said this is something that could change. Bret Martin said sometimes entities use their transportation advisory boards as their appeal boards. He said in Orange County that would be the OUTBoard, but OUTBoard does not meet often enough to meet federal guidelines. Commissioner Price asked John Roberts if someone could come to the Board or to the attorney if they did not like the opinion of the OPT administrator. John Roberts said he would need time to review this in order to provide an answer. Commissioner Price noted that page 28 states that a person would have 30 days to appeal after receipt of letter, and she asked if the letters will be sent by certified mail. Bret Martin said yes. Commissioner Rich asked if the service is coming out of the current operational budget. Bret Martin said yes.