PA: Westmont Borough Council votes to fully fund local share for CamTran services

Westmont Borough Council has voted to fully fund the Cambria County Transit Authority’s request of $13,412 for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The council’s approval, in a 5-1 vote, marks a shift from its initial vote in November to reduce the borough’s local share for CamTran’s public transportation services to $5,000.

The council’s approval of the full payment to CamTran came during a special meeting June 4. The minutes from that meeting were ratified Tuesday during the council’s regular meeting at the borough’s Luzerne Street municipal building.

The financial commitment from the council came weeks from CamTran’s budget deadline at the end of June.

CamTran Executive Director Rose Lucey-Noll has said Westmont’s full local share would be critical to maintaining state funding for the region’s public transportation in the future.

The council’s initial resolution to pay a lesser amount of $5,000 would have reduced the state government’s funding match to CamTran by $67,000 and likely would have resulted in long-term service reductions across the borough, Lucey-Noll has said.

In accordance with state law for funding local transportation agencies, CamTran’s municipal partners, including Westmont, have been paying local shares annually that are matched at a much greater rate by the state government – and the state’s future allocations to CamTran would continue to reflect any local funding reduction.

When local matching funds are reduced below a threshold set by state law, the corresponding reduced state allocation is carried forward, according to PennDOT information.

In the months since the council’s initial November vote to reduce its payment, the Cambria County government has taken steps to address the council’s main concern – a 40-year-old funding formula that dictates the local shares paid to CamTran by municipalities including Westmont.

“That was one of the reasons we were hesitant to pay at first,” Westmont Borough Council President Marc McCall said, “but now, getting all the municipalities involved with an independent consultant is positive movement.”

Cambria County has planned a third-party study – funded by PennDOT – to review the formula for potential changes in the future. With that study to be conducted by the consulting firm Michael Baker International, a majority of the council has decided to fully fund CamTran’s request for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Council members McCall, Chris DelSignore, Chad Miller, Tim McIlwain and April Eyler voted to approve the full payment. Eyler is a newcomer to the council since the November decision. Councilman Anthony Berkebile was absent from the June 4 meeting.

Councilman Bill Stasko cast the single vote against the full payment. Stasko said he doesn’t believe the borough’s additional $8,000 expenditure of taxpayer money to CamTran is prudent.

“Basically, I don’t believe the numbers that CamTran is reporting for Westmont residents that are using the service,” he said. “I think it’s a lot less, and I just felt that extra money could be spent somewhere else in the borough.”

McCall said the council would review future annual payments to CamTran again after the study is completed.

“It’s important to make sure we are responsible with taxpayer money,” he said. “We understand transportation is important to the community, but the local shares are determined by a 40-year-old formula. Communities change over 40 years.”

The formula that McCall and the council have called into question determines municipal shares to CamTran based on each municipality’s census and miles covered by buses, Lucey-Noll has said.

Westmont resident Leah Spangler thanked the council Tuesday for its decision to fully fund CamTran’s request.

“Thank you for approving the funding for CamTran and preserving public transit for our community,” she said.

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