On July 20, 2016, The Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) filed with the Stark County Board of Elections to place a ten-year renewal of the ¼%, sales tax levy that provides a significant portion of the transit authority's operating budget on the November 8, 2016 General Election ballot. The small levy has been overwhelmingly approved by voters every time it has appeared on the ballot since it was first proposed in 1996. "Renewing the levy for ten years will provide the reliable revenue stream we need to fund current operations, enable us to draft and implement long-range plans and give voters the opportunity to hold us accountable on a regular basis," said Chuck DeGraff, SARTA's board president.
According to Kirt Conrad, "SARTA has earned and maintained broad-based community support by exceeding the expectations of the thousands of people, including disabled individuals, seniors, veterans, students and commuters who rely on SARTA to deliver safe, reliable, affordable public transportation across Stark County and beyond. "
Conrad said he believes voters will be impressed and motivated by the Authority's outstanding performance in recent years, including a 30% growth in ridership since 2009. Since the levy last appeared on the ballot in 2011 SARTA:
- Provided a record-setting 2.8 million rides in 2014, an increase of 700,000 for the five-year period.
- Received prestigious state and national awards for financial reporting, accountability and transparency
- Partnered with the Stark County Veterans' Services Commission to provide the county's veterans with free rides to the Wade Park VA Hospital in Cleveland 5 days a week.
- Became a national and global leader in transit technology by embracing state-of-the-art rider tools like Pin-Point and Google Transit.
- Opened the Belden Village Transit Center that connects residents to the busy shopping and business complex as well as Massillon, Hartville, downtown Canton and Akron.
- Our route to downtown Cleveland and the Wade Park VA Hospital is one of the longest continuous bus routes in Ohio.
- Trained more than 15,000 people to travel on our fixed routes, plan trips, purchase bus fares and use PinPoint, GoLine and Proline.
- Introduced Medicaid Services that provide free non-emergency medical transportation to medical appointments, free non-medical transportation to adult day support and to work or vocational training for individuals with I/O or level 1 waivers.
- Maintained our commitment to green transit technology and America's energy independence by continuing to transition our fleet from diesel fuel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). SARTA also opened the first publicly-accessible CNG fueling station in Ohio, outside of Columbus.
- We secured competitive funds from federal and state grants that will enable us to add 10 hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses to our fleet by the end of 2018. This innovative program will make SARTA the largest operator of vehicles powered by fuel cells outside California, the third largest in the U.S. and the seventh largest in the world.
- We are creating a fuel cell training and research program with Ohio State and Stark State.
- Designed a new website that will make using SARTA easier than ever before.
"We're eager to talk to residents about our impressive list of accomplishments and our vision for the future of public transportation-a vision which includes providing service to the Hall of Fame Village that will enable visitors and employees to easily access the exciting new venue," Tom Thompson, Levy campaign chair said.
"We are convinced that our vision for the future of public transit in Stark County will fuel our economy, create jobs and greatly enhance the quality of life in our community for many years to come. The renewal levy we have placed on the General Election ballot will enable us to convert our ambitious vision into an exciting reality-without increasing taxes," Stated Conrad.
