(1)
Requirements for transit system. A public transit system is
eligible for project assistance if the system is in compliance with all of the
following criteria:
a. The transit system
abides by all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
b. The transit system maintains primary
documentation for all revenues and expenses for a period of at least three
years.
c. The transit system
maintains the system's policies, routes, schedules, fare structure, and budget
in a manner that encourages public review, responsiveness to user concerns,
energy conservation, and fiscal solvency.
d. The transit system received departmental
approval of the system's plan or schedule for repayment of any loan
administered by the department.
e.
The transit system accurately reports all services to be supported with project
formula assistance and ensures that all services are open to the general
public.
(2)
Project conditions. The department shall obligate state
transit assistance for joint projects that meet the following criteria:
a. Each project must be included in the
current year of the locally adopted transportation improvement
program.
b. Each project shall
contain payment criteria, through the joint participation agreement, which are
mutually agreed upon by the department and the contracting officer of the
transit system.
c. Each special
project shall have a preestablished basis for determining success using a
specified means of performance management and shall have a detailed budget of
the resources available and the assistance necessary for
implementation.
d. State assistance
for a special project involving capital expense shall not exceed 85 percent of
the project's total capital expense. State assistance for a special project
involving operating support shall not exceed 80 percent of the project's total
operating expense in the first year and 50 percent of the project's total
operating expense in the second year.
(3)
Items not eligible for
assistance.
a. Administrative,
operations, or capital expenses which are determined by the department to be
inconsistent with department policies, public law, officially approved planning
and programming documents, or inconsistent with the purpose of improving the
effectiveness and quality of transit services.
b. Development of managerial, administrative,
or operational systems which duplicate programs made available at no charge to
the transit system by the department.
(4)
Determination of system
eligibility for formula assistance.
a. Prior to the beginning of each fiscal
year, each state-designated public transit system's formula percentage shall be
determined through the process shown in the appendix located at the end of this
chapter.
(1) Transit system data used in
determining formula percentage is based only on services which are open to the
general public and is derived from the last fiscal year for which complete
information is available.
(2) The
process shown in the appendix establishes the percentage of available state
transit assistance funds not reserved for special projects for which each
transit system is eligible during the fiscal year.
b. The amount of each system's eligibility
for formula assistance from this appropriation shall be determined by
multiplying the system's formula percentage by the amount of the appropriation
not reserved for special projects.
c. If the dollar amount of state transit
assistance is not known until the funds are actually deposited in the state
transit assistance account, the amount of each system's eligibility for formula
assistance from these funds shall be determined as follows: At the beginning of
each month, the system's formula percentage shall be multiplied by the amount
of new funds not reserved for special projects that were deposited in the state
transit assistance account during the previous month.
d. A transit system's eligibility for
programmed project assistance may be reduced if it is subject to the sanctions
outlined in Iowa Code section
324A.5 or 761-Chapter
910.
(5)
Determination of amount reserved for special projects. Each
fiscal year, at least $300,000 will be reserved from state transit assistance
appropriations for special projects. Any special project funds not obligated in
the previous fiscal year and any funds made available through closeout of
previously approved projects may also be reserved for special projects. Special
project funds are distributed by the department on a discretionary basis in
accordance with subrule 920.4(2).
APPENDIX TO
761-920.5 (324A)
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FP
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Formula percentage. The percentage of any state
transit assistance appropriation that a public transit system is eligible to
receive from the nondiscretionary portion of the appropriation. Determination
of a public transit system's formula percentage shall be made using the method
diagrammed in this appendix.
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FY
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Fiscal year. The 12-month period beginning July 1
of one year and ending June 30 of the following year.
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LDI
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Locally determined income. All transit system
revenue dedicated for operations expense during a fiscal year, minus federal
operating assistance from the U.S. Department of Transportation and minus all
special project operating support and formula assistance funds received from
the Iowa Department of Transportation.
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OpExp
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Operations expense. All eligible transit system
expenses related to operating, maintaining, and administering transit
operations.
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Pass
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Passenger. A person boarding a transit vehicle for
the purpose of making a trip. A passenger is counted each time that person
boards a vehicle for travel to a destination.
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RevMi
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Revenue miles. Total vehicle miles traveled by
revenue vehicles of public transit systems while in revenue service. Excludes
miles traveled to and from storage facilities and other deadhead travel.
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