CHATHAM COUNTY (WSAV) — Public transit funding is taking center stage in Chatham County today, as local officials prepare to discuss a significant budget request from Chatham Area Transit (CAT). The conversation comes amid an $8.4 million projected funding gap for the agency’s upcoming fiscal year 2027 budget.
County commissioners and transit leaders are meeting in a scheduled workshop to examine potential solutions, including a proposed increase to the millage rate. This property tax mechanism helps fund transit operations. The goal, according to officials, is to stabilize funding without reducing service for riders.
Transit officials point to several contributing factors behind the gap. These include reduced local tax revenue following a prior millage rate cut, rising operational expenses, and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that had temporarily supported transit systems nationwide…