The county commissioners this week, on a 2-1 vote, opted to increase their annual contribution to VanGo, the county's only public transportation system.
In order to apply for the grant, VanGo must provide a preliminary budget and breakdown of how it will meet the budget for the next fiscal year.
The commissioners in 2016 contributed $50,000 toward VanGo ahead of the grant application, boosting that in 2017 to $65,0000 as the bus service that's run by the senior center faced a deficit in light of budget constraints and the elimination of several federal grants.
The city followed suit, and VanGo staff also doubled-down on cost saving measures, including going after and receiving a grant for over $600,000 from the Indiana Department of Transportation to update its software, make dispatching more automated and further cut costs in the long run.
The software is expected to go live in July.
Davis told the commissioners this week that if they wanted to continue to allocate $65,000 toward the bus service, she'd be comfortable with that number.
But in trying to predict how the next year will play out financially, bringing that contribution up to $75,000 would also be helpful because the cost-saving measures tied to the software update might not be realized right away.
“I'd like to say I can project exactly what 2019 is going to look like with all the new software. The goal is for us to come $20,000 under budget, but they've also told me that first year can be kind of erratic,” Davis said. “So I'm OK with $65,000, but I wanted to throw out both numbers.
“I now this is way before the budget hearings, but unfortunately this grant comes due and has to be signed, sealed and delivered before that happens.”
Commission president Kellie Streeter said she personally felt fine leaving the contribution at $65,000, but fellow commissioners Trent Hinkle and Tim Ellerman instead voted for a motion that upped the number to $75,000.
Streeter cast the opposing vote, but made clear that she supports the bus service and all it does for the county's residents; she simply felt more comfortable setting the number at $65,000.
Davis will take that request to the county council next month.