After three years of planning and discussion, cities in Polk County are one by one signing on to a reorganized transit system, the Regional Transit Authority, designed to accommodate future growth in the area and encourage more widespread use of public transportation.

“If we were to stay with the same governance and finance models, there’s no way the current system would grow,” said Christine Hensley, a Des Moines city councilwoman and chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s board of directors.

Steve Spade, general manager of the MTA, said the 32-year-old public transit system’s organizational structure was in need of review in order to better respond to regional transit issues. But that review process also created an opportunity to change its funding mechanisms and membership in a way that would better serve the entire region, including cities that, in the past, could not afford to bring the MTA’s services to their residents.

“Instead of transit needs being in the original five cities (that created the MTA in 1972), it really has grown by virtue of the fact that the population has grown,” Spade said.

The Polk County Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 20 its intent to join with the county’s municipalities in establishing the RTA. All 16 cities in Polk County are considered members of the RTA unless they exercise their option to opt out of the 28E agreement. So far, Spade said, support appears to be universal.

“We have had an interest in adding bus service to our community for a number of years,” Johnston Mayor Brian Laurenzo said. “But up to this point, we haven’t been able to justify the cost with all of the other burdens on our city tax rate. The RTA gives us an opportunity to accomplish that.” The Johnston City Council voted Jan. 3 to approve participation in the program.

Cities currently involved with the MTA pay for service based on the number of miles of service in their community. Under the new regional transit system, the taxing authority will shift from member cities to Polk County, which will collect a countywide tax based on property valuations, the sum of which will account for 5 percent of the RTA’s tax subsidy. Spade estimates that will amount to about $2 a year for a home valued at $100,000. Ninety-five percent of the remaining costs will be spread out among member cities based on the number of service miles in their communities.

Spade said the shift in taxing authority to a single governmental body will create a more reliable budget, though not a larger one, and will give the transit system more direct control and responsibility for its budget. By having greater control of the budget, he said the RTA board will be able to improve its long-term planning and the transit system can improve its capital improvement program.

Some current members, such as Des Moines, will see a decrease in fees, though other cities, such as Clive and Ankeny, are expected to see an increase. For some non-member cities, the RTA structure will finally make public transit an affordable service.

Laurenzo said the cost per taxpayer in Johnston to join the RTA will be much lower than under the MTA structure. In the past, the level of interest in bus service has been relatively low due to the cost, but he expects interest to climb under a lower cost plan.

“I think that Johnston has grown to a size where bus service is needed,” he said. “The more people we have, the more people we will have using the service. And that’s why I think now is a good time to participate.” Laurenzo expects there to be an express route between Johnston and downtown Des Moines when new service plans are implemented.

Polk City Administrator Gary Mahannah said the city council will review the proposal at its Jan. 23 meeting, and must carefully weight the community’s transit service needs and whether those needs justify the projected costs.

“There’s going to come a time when mass transit is going to be necessary to services this area other than just with roads,” Mahannah said. Though he is unsure what transit services would best fit the needs of the city, should it join the system, the RTA plans to work with new member cities to develop service plans based on evaluations of their needs.

The transition to a regional system also calls for a change in governance. Under the current structure, the MTA is overseen by a 10-person board with representatives from each member city. The RTA’s governance structure calls for a nine-person board, with two at-large members appointed by the Board of Supervisors and seven members representing each of the county’s state Senate districts.

Supporters say the change in governance will allow the RTA to better represent the needs of the entire region.

“It just really seems to put the authority where it needs to be,” said Altoona City Administrator Jeff Mark. “This allows the board to focus what’s in the best interest of the entire region.”

Mark said the drawback for Altoona and other members of the MTA is the loss of direct representation on the transit system’s board. Even so, he believes the new governance system will better serve the entire region and will be “much more efficient and streamlined.”

Though Polk County’s municipalities have come together to share other services, such as those provided by the Metro Waste Authority and the Wastewater Reclamation Authority, some community leaders believe the RTA will further promote the need to collaborate.

“You have everyone coming in together on a level playing field,” Hensley said.

The RTA was created as a result of state legislation that allows for counties with large populations to collect a countywide tax levy for the creation of a regional transit system. (Cedar Rapids/Linn County would also have the ability to establish a regional system under that legislation.) Under the legislation, the RTA can extend into counties that are contiguous to Polk County, as well as cities within contiguous counties.

“More than one quarter of the people who work downtown live outside the county,” Spade said. “That makes transportation a regional issue beyond the borders of Polk County.”

But, he added, “our focus today is making sure we’re doing it right in Polk County.”

Cities have until March 1 to state their intent to join or opt out of the RTA. (Cities that opt out of the RTA agreement can choose to join in the future, but at a higher cost, Hensley said.) The MTA board then plans to include new members in discussions as it finalizes its strategic plan, and discussions with new members will also begin regarding service opportunities in their communities, Spade said.

Though initial service enhancements will likely be limited to the new member cities, he said the strategic plan calls for service enhancements throughout the region, such as weekend, evening and holiday service.

“That’s something that’s really at the front of a lot of people’s minds, and we need to start addressing that now,” Spade said.