(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Funds Needed

Weekend & evening paratransit services in P.A. in danger of being stopped over lack of funding

Jan 25, 2024 | 5:00 PM

People who use paratransit services in Prince Albert may soon have trouble getting around the city.

That’s according to Bill Powalinsky, the CEO of the Prince Albert Community Service Centre (CSC), who told paNOW they need an additional $103,000 to continue providing all of their services this year.

If they don’t get it, they’ll have to stop offering evening and weekend transit.

“If you happen to be relying on paratransit service, you have a curfew. You have to be home by 5 p.m. if you don’t have any other means of transportation and you can’t go out on weekends,” said Powalinsky.

The CSC was given nearly $572,000 from the city through the 2024 municipal budget. This is the same amount they received in both 2022 and 2023. It is up from the roughly $538,000 the organization received from 2019 to 2021.

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Powalinsky said they need the extra funding because of inflation and the high gas prices.

The CSC had this same issue last year, but they ended up using around $122,000 they had in reserves.

Powalinsky explained they had started negotiations with the city about getting more funding, however, they were abruptly stopped.

“We were looking to negotiate an agreement with the city but at the last minute, the offers that were on the table were pulled. The City [then] said they’re not going to give us anything more than what we received in the last two years.”

The two sides did meet up again on Thursday. Despite this, CSC has started a petition which they plan on giving to the city. It’s being set up at various locations across Prince Albert, though people can just contact the organization who’ll mark them down.

“I hope that the public’s support will be enough to cause city council to reconsider their position and go back to negotiations,” added Powalinsky.

Meanwhile, P.A.’s mayor addressed the Thursday meeting that the two sides had, explaining they’re working on setting up a contract that would include the additional funding being asked for.

“I understood that we had a deal, that we would move ahead (and) get the contract done by May of this year (at the latest),” said Greg Dionne.

He added the city wants that contract finished before any extra funds are given as it’ll outline exactly what everything is being used on. Powalinsky agreed that talks on a contract had restarted, though any additional funding would start in 2025 and not 2024.

Dionne also went on to say that the CSC’s budget is more like $700,000.

“We do all the maintenance for their whole fleet, we also purchase their fleet, and a new bus costs about $200,000… so they probably get more than the $700,000,” he said.

While frustrated that the CSC publicly shared their frustration despite talks ongoing, Dionne noted they all agree that paratransit is an important need in the community.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow