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80 <br /> Chapter 5: Organizational Options <br /> and compliance, and marketing. All the operations are provided under a turnkey operating <br /> contract with a private provider. <br /> In some cases, transit's home is in a department of community services because the <br /> jurisdiction's initial transportation operating program was senior and/or other human service <br /> transportation. This was the case in Frederick County, Maryland, where the transit program <br /> was initially a division in a department of community services. Eventually the transit program <br /> came to have much more of a general public service orientation, and it became a separate <br /> department reporting to the County Manager. In that case it was both the growth of the transit <br /> system and its change in orientation to a general public service that led to the change. <br /> In terms of scale, even the potential expansion of the services presented earlier should not <br /> require major growth in the administrative staffing beyond that now envisioned for the near <br /> term. If OPT were to expand its services as shown above in the "unfunded"vision, there could <br /> be a need for additional road supervision, which could be addressed through the development <br /> of"lead driver" positions. Expanded administrative functions could potentially be addressed <br /> through further development of a transit planner position and redistribution of some functions <br /> between that and the Transit Administrator (see Option i below). <br /> REGIONAL CONTEXT, PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS <br /> Another factor that can affect the appropriate organizational model is the degree to which <br /> transit services and funding are regional in nature.A separate rural county system that has no <br /> regional services and is funded by the county (and with grants that are provided directly to the <br /> county) may need little participation in regional planning, and the services may not require <br /> much planning beyond a vehicle replacement plan. However, if a jurisdiction is located such <br /> that it is partly rural and partly urban, and a significant amount of its potential funding is <br /> allocated through regional planning organizations or through regional taxes, the role of <br /> planning is much more significant. <br /> As Orange County's transportation program now needs representation on two Metropolitan <br /> Planning Organizations and a rural planning organization in order to obtain transit funding, <br /> there is a substantial need for an expanded planning function to ensure that the system's needs <br /> are adequately considered in the on-going planning process. Grants management is more <br /> complex as well, and federal and state program compliance is significantly more complicated <br /> with multiple funding sources. The travel needs of county residents are regional in nature, and <br /> the county must participate in the regional transit planning process to ensure that these needs <br /> are met, whether through county provided services or other regional providers. <br /> KFH <br /> NCDOT Orange County 64 <br /> Transit Assessment Study <br />