MY TURN: Citylink is an essential service

There have recently been concerns and questions raised within the county regarding why our tax dollars should pay for transit services, and I hope to clarify some confusing information that has been presented to Kootenai County residents and community members.  

Kootenai County Public Transportation (Citylink) is an essential municipal and community service, as defined by government in the U.S. It keeps people connected to neighborhoods, employment, shopping, education, health care, recreation, community services, family and friends. The design of the public transportation system is to ensure maximum service coverage within the designated service area. Federal funding for public transportation within states, urbanized areas and tribal governments is based on statutory formulas set in law to support transit. The FY24 federal funding allocated to Kootenai County Public Transportation amounts to $2,870,350. These funds are not county taxpayer dollars, as previously stated on public record. The majority of the local match required by the federal funding agency to pull down these federal funds is provided by Kootenai County Public Transportation’s transit partners, including cities within the county. Kootenai County’s contribution to the transit budget that’s up for discussion for FY25 is $66,308. 

The administration of all transit grants is performed by federally-funded positions within the county’s transit department and does not present a financial or staffing burden for any other county department. Not exclusive to the transportation department, all county department financials are reviewed by the County’s Auditor’s Office, and all contracts and agreements are reviewed by the County’s Legal Department. 

Recently, on public record, the Kootenai County Auditor’s Office stated that its cost for performing transit grant accounting for FY24 as of Sept. 30 was $288,357. However, this number was calculated as a percentage of overall county grants and does not represent the actual time/effort spent by the auditor’s office staff. 

I served the county as a commissioner for six years. During this time, I acted as the County Commissioner Liaison for Public Transportation. As I hear about Commissioner Bruce Mattare’s attacks on public transportation and the valuable service it provides, I would like to remind Mr. Mattare, we all pay taxes to the county. This includes individuals living in the cities as well as outside of cities. Individuals within the county and cities pay for schools even though their children do not attend school or do not have any children. Public transportation is a comparable essential service not used by everyone, but still a valued one that is worthy of our support. Citylink helps to make Kootenai County a more livable and safer community for all residents. 

The current governance model for Kootenai County Public Transportation is the most efficient and cost effective. Please stop making the statement that the property tax levied for public transportation is $2,268,959. It is not true.

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Chris Fillios is a Coeur d'Alene resident.