Submitted By: Tom Duncan
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Presentation By: Tom Duncan
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Department: Growth Management
FORMAL TITLE:
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Budget Resolution 2026-101 to amend the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget to accept and appropriate $796,934 in Public Transportation Grant Agreement funds from the Florida Department of Transportation and $808,934 in local matching funds to support the Ocala/Marion County Public Transit System, SunTran, for a total amount of $1,605,868
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OCALA'S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Operational Excellence, Quality of Place
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND:
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) annually provides grant funding to communities that will pay operating assistance of up to 50 percent for fixed-route public transit systems. To be awarded funding, the City of Ocala (City) must enter into a Public Transportation Grant Agreement (PTGA) with FDOT. The City has been awarded $796,934, pending approval of the PTGA, which requires a $796,934 local match. The City and County are contributing a combined additional amount of $12,000 for training and travel that is not reimbursable by the PTGA Agreement.
On September 19, 2023, the City of Ocala and Marion County entered into an Interlocal Agreement establishing their respective funding commitments of local funds to operate SunTran. The Agreement states that the percentages of support between the City of Ocala and Marion County may vary from year to year based on service changes identified in the Transit Development Plan. For Fiscal Year 2026, the percentages will be 75 percent for the City and 25 percent for the County.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS:
The funding will be used toward the daily operation of the Ocala/Marion County Public Transportation System, SunTran. This includes, but is not limited to, paying RATP Dev to run the daily operations of SunTran, staff salaries for working on the federal and state grants that fund SunTran, fuel for the buses, utilities for the SunTra...
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