(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

FUNDING DISPUTES

City of P.A. responds to possible service cuts to paratransit service

Jan 31, 2024 | 3:00 PM

The City of Prince Albert said the decision to cut services for Access Transit lies squarely on the non-profit running the buses and not them.

On Wednesday, the city responded to the news that the Community Service Centre (CSC) was in danger of cutting its weekend and evening paratransit services because of a lack of funding. The centre said it needs $103,000 more for this calendar year.

CEO Bill Powalinsky previously told paNOW that the CSC was given nearly $572,000 from the city through the 2024 municipal budget, the same amount they received in 2022 and 2023. That is up from the roughly $538,000 the organization received from 2019 to 2021.

The city noted the CSC was also allocated $122,640 for fleet maintenance, $122,300 from city-funding surplus in previous years, $69,500 from senior transportation operations, and $108,400 for the purchase of a new paratransit bus.

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

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READ MORE: ‘Very limiting’: Advocates and riders worry about possible cuts to paratransit services

In the city’s response, they said they worked with the CSC to negotiate a contract for 2024/2025. The city was motivated to finalize the contract before budget deliberations, which was met with higher counteroffers from the CSC concerning staff wages and additional backpay for 2022/2023. The city said the timeline for finalizing the contract agreements lapsed without a resolution.

“Mr. Powalinsky is no stranger to the city budget timelines. Completing the negotiations before budget deliberations was not fulfilled. We are also concerned about the discrepancies in the CSC’s budget documentation,” said Sherry Person, City manager for the City of Prince Albert.

The city added documents the CSC sent to them on Jan. 25 show a reserve exceeding $35,000 from last year, indicating Access Transit operated $37,000 under budget for fuel in the same period.

“The decision to reduce evening and weekend hours is not the city’s. The CSC is choosing to reduce hours,” said Mayor Greg Dionne. “We don’t believe that these service cuts are necessary, and it’s concerning to me that they are choosing to go this route.”

Dionne and Powalinsky have said negotiations have restarted a new contract, but Powalinsky noted it would not start until 2025.

One group not happy that paratransit services could be cut is the Peer Support Group for Blind and Low Vision People in Prince Albert.

Don Horncastle is a spokesperson for the group and when asked what losing the service would mean, he said it would be threatening.

“Because for some of us, Access Transit or taxis [are] our only means of getting out and about and getting to events.”

Horncastle noted there are plenty of agencies and services that help seniors and those with disabilities during business hours every day for things like doctor’s appointments and grocery trips. But if the service is cut for evenings, that means no events or special gatherings, which could lead to feelings of isolation.

“If you’re locked in your house and you can’t get anywhere, it’s very isolating. You don’t have any access to entertainment or recreation (and) that’s one of the difficulties because without some form of transportation in this world, you are isolated, you lose your independence, you lose a lot of your social networking, all that kind of stuff disappears if you can’t get out.”

Dionne said the city is committed to providing this service in Prince Albert and finalizing an agreement with the CSC is an essential priority.

On Thursday morning, the CSC responded to the city’s statement saying the recent budget allocation has left them with no choice but to cut those services.

“The simple fact is that the City had two opportunities to approve the requested budget. The City abruptly stopped negotiations without explanation for the internal process,” said CEO Bill Powalinsky. “The City still had the opportunity to approve an allocation sufficient enough to allow the Centre to maintain status quo services through the external agency process.”

Powalinskey added that finalizing negotiations for 2024 and 2025 is crucial for the service and that the two sides still have to agree on a funding formula.

“Unfortunately, this will not help the Paratransit operations for 2024. The Centre has to face the dilemma of where to maintain services as the status quo is not viable.”

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panews@pattisonmedia.com