Editor’s Note: Citilink was featured as the Talk of the Week story in The Local Fort Wayne this week, which is the top story they’re following. We are adding the story below to amplify the words. If you’d like to read the story, along with other important Fort Wayne news, or sign up for their weekly newsletter, click the link HERE.
City Council should have been reading The Local….
What’s happening?
Indiana’s flatlined funding for public transportation, combined with the state’s property tax caps (aka circuit breaker law), are putting Fort Wayne Citilink and City Council in a difficult position. Last week, Citilink came before council to ask for help regarding its $2.5 million budget deficit – the fiscal cliff we broke news about last summer. Now, Fort Wayne will have to decide whether to fund public transportation or not.
- What’s the plan? Citilink is seeking a special tax levy that would cost residents between $3 and $12 a year, depending on the value of their home. The tax would only affect those not already above Indiana’s property tax caps.
- But also: just last week Citilink shared with council that the special tax levy plan would cost the city $669,417 in lost property tax receipts for 2025, and nearly $180,000 less in local income tax for 2026 – a total l0ss of about $850,000. This would affect the budgets for Allen County, Fort Wayne Community Schools, the Allen County Public Library, the airport authority and EMS and fire.
- If Citilink isn’t funded: it will face “deep” 14% service cuts beyond already meager levels of public transportation available in Fort Wayne. Cuts are expected to begin in April.
After a lengthy presentation by Citilink, public testimonies from more than 20 residents and discussion, Council opted to hold the vote until Oct. 22 to determine what solution(s) can be reached.
A deeper dive…
There was a lot to take in at City Council’s discussion of Citilink, but here are a few quick items in our notebook:
- The timing is challenging, but it’s not a new problem. Several councilmen called Citilink’s request unexpected amidst an already hectic budget season. Some council members said they didn’t even know about Citilink’s budget deficit until days before the intended vote on Oct. 8. (For the record: We first reported on Citilink’s impending fiscal cliff last summer.) Citilink’s General Manager John Metzinger says he’s been meeting with members of council since May, too, but “critical details” about just how much the special tax levy would affect the city’s budget came to light last week, further complicating Citilink’s request. Metzinger says: “Everyone at the city is learning about the effects of Indiana’s complex property tax laws at the same time, along with us at Citilink.”
- Fort Wayne hasn’t made a direct contribution to Citilink since it was formed. During last week’s meeting, Councilwoman Michelle Chambers, D-At Large, noted that several cities, including smaller ones, like Gary, Ind., have invested in public transportation to a higher degree than Fort Wayne. In fact, Metzinger tells us: “The city has not made a direct contribution that we’re aware of since Citilink was formed in 1968. Great cities, like Gary, Indianapolis, and Bloomington, have direct contributions to support expansion of public transit. We are grateful that our transparency about Citilink’s budget challenge is bringing about new conversations about the value that public transportation brings to the community.”
- New Councilwoman Rohli Booker, D-6th, gave a show-stopping speech (worth listening to at 1:32:30). She called upon council to “prioritize Citilink as a true city service.” “We’re at the point now where we have to decide who we want to be as a city,” she said. “Are we going to be content with being the home of a struggling public transportation system?” Councilman Russ Jehl, R-2nd, noted that, due to Indiana’s property tax caps, Citilink’s proposed tax levy would disproportionately affect those who have lower valued properties (and are likely low-income residents). Still, Booker, who represents some of the lowest income areas in the state, said her constituents would support Citilink because their community depends on it. “Too often it is those with the least who are asked to do the most, and honestly, we are so used to that,” she said. “Most people I know in my community, in my neighborhood, would pay the cost of a movie ticket (the equivalent of the tax increase) if it meant that their neighbor has reliable transportation. When my neighbor has a job, they’re contributing; they’re paying their bills; they’re taking care of their kids, and they are staying healthy by making it to their doctors’ appointments…. It allows them to thrive…. It’s time to address the fact that this has been coming for awhile.”
- More local and state investment will be needed to build a sustainable public transportation system in Fort Wayne. About a decade ago, Indiana legislators decoupled funding for public transportation from the state’s sales tax, placing a larger burden on local municipalities to fund public transportation – or not. Councilman Nathan Hartman, R-3rd, noted that the state’s funding formula for public transportation also provides “a disproportionate lower amount of funds” to Fort Wayne “because those funds are not based on population, they’re based on ridership.” He said: “We should continue to work with legislators to make sure Fort Wayne is getting a fair amount of state funds.” Metzinger added that the state’s formula is “locked in place, based on 2013 ridership data,” and while population is a metric, so is locally derived revenue. “So the state fund considers the amount of local investment and multiplies that in its funding,” Metzinger said. “If we can make investments in public transit locally, we’ll see that virtuous cycle continue to grow.”
