The GRTC Board of Directors recently voted to allow Henrico County representatives to join the transit provider’s governing board. (Photos courtesy of GRTC)
The Greater Richmond Transit Company has made room for a few more seats on its governing board.
The regional transit provider’s board of directors recently voted to add three representatives from Henrico County to the board, bringing it to a total of nine directors.
Henrico’s delegation will consist of Supervisors Tyrone Nelson and Daniel Schmitt and the county’s Public Works Assistant Director Todd Eure.
The board currently consists of six members, with three each from the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County.
Julie Timm
GRTC CEO Julie Timm said that the Henrico members are expected to participate in the board’s upcoming April 19 meeting.
Timm said that the creation of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority in 2020 and ensuing tax revenue flow to GRTC motivated conversations between Henrico and GRTC about the county’s inclusion on the board.
“With that shift, I believe Henrico felt at that time with the money coming from the Henrico tax base going to CVTA and coming to GRTC they wanted to have a stronger presence on the governing board,” she said.
The CVTA is a regional authority that allocates tax money toward transportation projects. GRTC gets 15 percent of its collections.
GRTC anticipates direct funding in the amounts of $4.2 million from Henrico, $8 million from Richmond and $1.2 million from Chesterfield, as well as $21.4 million in CVTA funds to be among its revenue streams in the fiscal year 2023 budget, according to a January presentation on the organization’s proposed baseline budget figures.
Those figures would cover existing service and don’t include the local and state match GRTC needs to continue to offer free-to-rider fares. An updated draft budget is expected to be presented at the April meeting, a GRTC spokeswoman said this week.
The GRTC directors’ mid-March vote to ratify amendments to the organization’s articles of incorporation and bylaws to welcome Henrico was the last major procedural step needed for the expansion, though there are a few minor bureaucratic tasks to be completed, Timm said.
All three municipalities’ governing bodies voted recently to approve the amendments.
The members of the GRTC board are appointed by their respective localities’ governing bodies. Members serve one-year terms and are able to serve multiple back-to-back terms.
Timm said GRTC already works closely with Henrico in regard to bus service in the locality, and that the addition of Henrico board members would further strengthen the relationship.
“The municipalities have always had a strong say in what’s put in their jurisdictions. Having elected office or other people on the board won’t change that, but it will give us a direct link to people making funding decisions for each jurisdiction,” she said.
Six of GRTC’s 37 total routes in service are wholly in Henrico County, and several routes straddle Richmond and Henrico, a GRTC spokeswoman said.
Henrico Deputy County Administrator Steven Yob said Henrico’s funding contributions and its residents’ usage of GRTC services were factors in the locality’s interest in board seats. He said conversations about joining the board had been happening for well over a year.
“As a very large contributor to the program in terms of funding, we certainly feel we should be represented. We have significant routes in the county and significant ridership,” he said.
In fiscal year 2021, GRTC recorded about 960,000 rides specifically on Henrico County routes, compared to 4.6 million rides on routes in Richmond, according to data provided by GRTC.
The GRTC Board of Directors recently voted to allow Henrico County representatives to join the transit provider’s governing board. (Photos courtesy of GRTC)
The Greater Richmond Transit Company has made room for a few more seats on its governing board.
The regional transit provider’s board of directors recently voted to add three representatives from Henrico County to the board, bringing it to a total of nine directors.
Henrico’s delegation will consist of Supervisors Tyrone Nelson and Daniel Schmitt and the county’s Public Works Assistant Director Todd Eure.
The board currently consists of six members, with three each from the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County.
Julie Timm
GRTC CEO Julie Timm said that the Henrico members are expected to participate in the board’s upcoming April 19 meeting.
Timm said that the creation of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority in 2020 and ensuing tax revenue flow to GRTC motivated conversations between Henrico and GRTC about the county’s inclusion on the board.
“With that shift, I believe Henrico felt at that time with the money coming from the Henrico tax base going to CVTA and coming to GRTC they wanted to have a stronger presence on the governing board,” she said.
The CVTA is a regional authority that allocates tax money toward transportation projects. GRTC gets 15 percent of its collections.
GRTC anticipates direct funding in the amounts of $4.2 million from Henrico, $8 million from Richmond and $1.2 million from Chesterfield, as well as $21.4 million in CVTA funds to be among its revenue streams in the fiscal year 2023 budget, according to a January presentation on the organization’s proposed baseline budget figures.
Those figures would cover existing service and don’t include the local and state match GRTC needs to continue to offer free-to-rider fares. An updated draft budget is expected to be presented at the April meeting, a GRTC spokeswoman said this week.
The GRTC directors’ mid-March vote to ratify amendments to the organization’s articles of incorporation and bylaws to welcome Henrico was the last major procedural step needed for the expansion, though there are a few minor bureaucratic tasks to be completed, Timm said.
All three municipalities’ governing bodies voted recently to approve the amendments.
The members of the GRTC board are appointed by their respective localities’ governing bodies. Members serve one-year terms and are able to serve multiple back-to-back terms.
Timm said GRTC already works closely with Henrico in regard to bus service in the locality, and that the addition of Henrico board members would further strengthen the relationship.
“The municipalities have always had a strong say in what’s put in their jurisdictions. Having elected office or other people on the board won’t change that, but it will give us a direct link to people making funding decisions for each jurisdiction,” she said.
Six of GRTC’s 37 total routes in service are wholly in Henrico County, and several routes straddle Richmond and Henrico, a GRTC spokeswoman said.
Henrico Deputy County Administrator Steven Yob said Henrico’s funding contributions and its residents’ usage of GRTC services were factors in the locality’s interest in board seats. He said conversations about joining the board had been happening for well over a year.
“As a very large contributor to the program in terms of funding, we certainly feel we should be represented. We have significant routes in the county and significant ridership,” he said.
In fiscal year 2021, GRTC recorded about 960,000 rides specifically on Henrico County routes, compared to 4.6 million rides on routes in Richmond, according to data provided by GRTC.