NE: State and federal funding cuts will affect York public transit users and child advocates

Funding cuts by the state and federal government may soon threaten some services in York. At the York County Board meeting Tuesday, the Public Transportation department and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) spoke about the effects on their budgets.

Public Transportation department will lose 30% of state funding

York County Public Transportation offers rides to York residents on a by-request basis. Its services are particularly of use to elderly and disabled residents, as well as those without access to other forms of transportation.

Their funding from the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) for 2026-2027 will decrease by 30% as a result of statewide cuts.

In response to that drop, York County Public Transportation will not introduce some changes that were planned for this year.

Program director Lori Byers had initially planned to replace the 5-year-old tablets the department uses to dispatch vehicles and record fares. She also planned to buy equipment that would allow drivers to accept credit cards as payment. Because of the funding cuts, these will no longer be possible.

Currently, the county pays for the Public Transportation department's building space and utilities. Byers had planned to begin asking for NDOT to reimburse that expense, but the county will instead have to continue taking on that financial burden.

Public Transportation may also have to further decrease services.

“Right now, we’re having to turn down rides,” Byers said. “We have the manpower and the vehicles. We just don’t have the budget to continuously run them and make ends meet by the end of the year.”

If they can’t find a way to make up the missing revenue, Byers said, they might have to turn down even more rides beginning in 2026.

One solution Byers is looking at is to apply for more grant funding. Chairman Randy Obermeir suggested that the department might also have to increase fares. Currently, the county charges $2 for a ride within York city limits, and $4 for a ride within the county. Rides outside of the county can be secured for an additional fee.

CASA has more work but less money

Court Appointed Special Advocates is a nonprofit organization that connects children involved in child abuse-related court cases with volunteer advocates. The advocates work alongside a court-appointed attorney to determine the child’s needs, meeting with them much more frequently than their often-overworked attorneys are able and required to.

The organization has faced a significant decrease in grant funding, according to CASA for York County Executive Director Elizabeth Hain.

The Department of Justice cut millions of dollars in grant funding to National CASA. York’s CASA organization does not receive funding directly from the national nonprofit, Hain said, but “the effects trickle down to us from at least a PR standpoint,” making it harder to access local grants.

At the same time, CASA’s services are in greater demand.

“There is no shortage of child abuse cases in York County,” Hain said. “We continue to see increasing numbers and set records, unfortunately, in that regard. But when those numbers increase, our efforts increase. We are bending over backwards and finding unique and creative ways to get more and more kids served.”

To make the case for increased city investment into CASA, Hain provided an infographic stating that the city would experience a 600% return on investment.

“That’s not a made-up number,” Commissioner LeRoy Ott said. “Just look at our lawyer fees.” Without the advocates, court cases often take longer, and the county spends more money paying attorneys.

Other meeting items

• Chairman Obermeir signed and placed a vote for Chad Court as a member of the Nebraska Regional Interoperability Network Board of Directors. His vote was approved unanimously by the rest of the board.
• The board approved a service agreement with Speece Lewis, a Bowman Company, for the bridge on Road 3. The Bowman Company has no relation to Commissioner Alex Bowman.
• The county’s comprehensive plan survey has collected over 300 responses, which is a relatively high response rate for a county York’s size; 87% of respondents filled out the survey completely, which is also relatively high.