Voters in Kalamazoo County will see a five-year transit millage on their ballots May 3. The revenue from the tax would help pay for the Metro County Connect service, where users throughout the county pay a fee for a ride to their destination.
Right now, residents of the county pay 0.4 mills a year for the service. If the new levy passes, the rate would drop to 0.315 mills. That means a taxpayer whose house’s market value is $100,000 would pay about $16 a year.
Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority Chairperson Linda Teeter says the county can afford a lower rate even as it adds services, including Sunday rides, which it started earlier this year.
“That’s really historic because there has not been Sunday public transit services in this county,” she says.
Teeter says usage of Metro County Connect is up 20 percent in the last five years.
“It is a very much used service and needed service in our county,” she says.
Teeter credits careful planning, the grouping of like services, and funds from the transit millage that passed last summer with lowering the amount needed for this one.
The county plans to add evening hours to Metro County Connect in September. The service would run until midnight.
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