Accord defines KT trial to West Hants

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

A Kings Transit (KT) trial service to West Hants is doing reasonably well and an inter-municipal agreement is being developed to work out the management and cost sharing specifics.

Kings County Chief Administrative Officer Brian Smith, who presented a staff report to councillors at the November committee of the whole (COTW) session, said KT has been operating the trial service to West Hants for a few months now. The four participating municipal units - Kings, West Hants, Windsor and Hantsport - had earlier approved the trial, but the service began before all the funding details were worked out. This was done to engage potential riders in the early fall when many people make their travel decisions for the coming work and education seasons.

KT has been providing progress reports, financial information and ridership statistics through the CAOs of the four municipalities and, so far, the service is doing reasonably well. KT General Manager Ron Mullins said numbers are comparable to the Digby County service.

The CAOs and general manager have been working out the specifics of the pilot project, including cost sharing, project management and municipal reporting. The proposed inter-municipal agreement is for 25 months starting Sept. 4, 2007, unless terminated earlier with three months’ notice from any party.

KT is required to provide annual budgets, separate accounting and a year-end reconciliation of budgeted costs versus actual operating costs.

Smith said if there were an operating deficit, it would be covered by the partner municipalities on a percentage basis. If there were an operating surplus, it would be returned to the partner municipalities on the same percentage basis.

Costs shared by municipalities

“This is set up as an independent trial by Kings Transit, cost shared by the municipalities,” Smith said, pointing out that Kings County’s share would be 13.2 per cent. The Municipality of the District of West Hants would pay 50.65 per cent, the Town of Hantsport would pay 7.5 per cent and the Town of Windsor would pay 28.65 per cent. The four municipalities will contribute a total of $235,490 to the trial project in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

As pointed out by Mullins, part of the service extension covers the eastern end of Kings County. The other three partner municipalities have approved the service agreement.

Mullins said he’s trying to tackle the matter of the management fee charged by KT for the trial project to have it reflect more accurately the time, effort and resources required. The proposed management fee is $6,000.

“There is no new staff being allocated for this,” Mullins said.

Councillor Janet Newton said the management fee charged should be at fair cost and it would help Kings County if KT increased the fee. Mullins said the $6,000 fee helped make establishing the trial project more palatable for funding partners, but KT would look at increasing it in the future.

The COTW has recommended approval of the inter-municipal agreement to council and recommended authorizing Warden Fred Whalen and Municipal Clerk Ann Longley to sign it on behalf of the municipality.

According to a budget presented with the proposed service agreement, ridership for the trial project is projected to be 35,463 during the 2007-2008 fiscal period, resulting in fares totaling $74,827.