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Trumbull County Transit Board members last week publicly railed against Trumbull County commissioners, questioning a "lack of direction" and purpose for the board to which commissioners appointed them.
Three members of the board have now resigned -- including chairman Duane Hennen, who delivered his resignation last week, stating, "There is nothing for us to do."
One board seat has remained open for quite some time. Hennen's resignation and the previous week's resignation of member Marlene Rhodes has brought the vacancies to three.
Rhodes stated in her resignation letter she saw "no further use for the Trumbull Transit Board" since accomplishing the goal of paying off the board's debt to its former contractor, Community Bus Services. The board owed millions to the bus company for contracts in 2018 and 2019, but paid off the last of the debt in December.
Hennen is correct in saying there is nothing for the board to do now, transit administrator Mike Salamone said. That is because the board has no matching funds to use its remaining grant, no designated funding source to seek new grants and projects, and when there was a chance to create projects before certain funds expired, the board did not act on it in time, Salamone said.
Anyone who donates time and volunteers in a role like the Trumbull Transit board members, for the good of the community, deserves recognition.
But the existence of the Trumbull Transit board needs to end. Through its years in existence, the board has been hampered by infighting and sometimes a lack of decorum.
Trumbull County commissioners should vote to dismantle the board and proceed without it, instead allowing Salamone to supervise the system and handle any issues. He already reports directly to commissioners. The board creates an unnecessary layer that makes managing the county's public transportation system cumbersome.
The board openings present a perfect opportunity for Trumbull County to do what we've been proposing for more than a year.
So, why not allow Salamone to administer this county's transit system and answer directly to Trumbull commissioners -- just like many other Trumbull County department heads do?
New Trumbull County Commissioner Niki Frenchko recently hinted that plan could come to fruition.
"The transit board is their own entity with their own bylaws and purpose," Frenchko said recently. "They have lost participating communities and contracts due to their own shortcomings. The county is looking forward to the possibility of regionalized transportation, perhaps without the transit board. We have an informational meeting soon with our transit administrator, ODOT, the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) and Eastgate (Regional Council of Governments) representatives to ensure that our decisions are made in consideration of all variables, and the public's best interest."
County commissioners have considered disbanding the transit board entirely, as it no longer has any funding source and no longer funds or oversees any transportation in the county. Commissioners have brought a transit program Salamone is running under their direct purview and have engaged with the Western Reserve Transit Authority to build a plan to join the public transit system in Mahoning County.
WRTA now is running a pilot program in Trumbull County. With the transit program commissioners and Salamone are running, the service the Trumbull County Senior Levy Advisory Council runs and the pilot program, more rides were given in the county in 2020 than in 2019 under the transit board, Salamone said.
The remaining board members, including Hennen, Linda Kirkland, Carl Clemens, Jim Pirko and Martha Yoder, voted to pass a resolution asking commissioners to define the purpose and role of the board now, and to replace the board members who have left.
The door is open. Now is the time for commissioners to act.
We urge them to disband the board and move forward on county transportation without it.