Wis. Admin. Code Department of Transportation Trans 1.05 - Financial standards

(1) A county applying for its allocated aid shall make a matching cash contribution equal to 20% of the aid for which it applies. No in-kind services, no federal or state categorical financial aids and no passenger revenue shall be allowed as part of the matching contribution. The matching contribution shall be an auditable item in the county's system of accounts. The matching contribution shall be expended in an amount equal to 20% multiplied by the sum of the county's annual aid.

(2) A county may retain and hold in trust all or part of the allocated aid which it receives in 1983 and subsequent years for the purchase or maintenance of transportation equipment according to the following rules:

(a) The county board of supervisors shall by resolution authorize the establishment of an account in which aids retained in trust shall be deposited and accounted for separately from current aids and receipts from other sources. A county may not delegate its authority to hold unexpended aids in trust to any other organization or person. A copy of the resolution shall be provided to the department.

(b) All of the assets in a county's trust fund shall be expended; a county may not establish a permanent minimum balance. The balance of aid held in trust shall be consistent with the plan established under par. (f), but may not exceed an average daily balance on a quarterly basis of $80,000. Any balance exceeding this allowance shall be refunded to the department 30 days after the end of the quarter.

(c) A county need not physically segregate the cash in its trust fund from other county funds and may pool aids held in trust with other county funds for investment in such manner as the county is authorized to invest its funds. Any interest earned by aid held in trust shall be added at least annually to the trust fund. Interest shall be determined from the average annual rate of return for all funds with which the aid is invested and the average monthly balance of aid held in trust during the year.

(d) Counties shall maintain records showing the dates and amounts of deposits to the trust fund; the dates, amounts and purposes of expenditures from the fund; and interest earned by the fund.

(e) Aid may be held in trust only for the purpose of acquiring or maintaining transportation equipment used in services covered by this chapter.

(f) Expenditures of aid from a county's trust fund shall be made according to a plan approved by the department. A county's plan for the use of its trust fund shall indicate for what purpose the fund is being accumulated. A plan may be amended with the department's approval at any time.

(3) All revenue received from passengers for transportation service shall be applied to approved senior and disabled transportation projects. Counties may solicit revenue from passengers for non-transportation purposes if the solicitation indicates the intended use of the revenue.

(4) Copayment policies, as provided under s. 85.21(4) (c), Stats., shall conform to the following:

(a) If it requires copayments by users, a county shall establish the copayment amount based on a specific schedule of user fees that shall be made known to users.

(b) Counties shall establish the method by which the copayment is collected from the user.

(c) Fixed or variable rates of copayment may be permitted. Rate variation may be based on, among others, trip length, time required for a trip, trip purpose, ability to pay or the cost of individual versus group travel.

(d) Non-cash forms of exchange such as tickets, coupons, vouchers, passes, or billing accounts are permitted. A non-cash form of exchange shall represent an obligation to pay or to complete the payment of a copayment, unless the requirements for copayment have been waived.

(e) When allocated aid subsidizes a user's fee, the allocated aid may not pay the entire user's fee charged the user, unless the user's fee has been waived or unless the county provides the user with an opportunity to make voluntary contributions in accordance with sub. (5).

(5) Voluntary contribution policies as provided under s. 85.21(4) (c), Stats., shall conform to the following:

(a) A voluntary contribution policy making user contributions optional and allowing each user to establish the amount of the voluntary contribution shall be permitted.

(b) If a county provides users an opportunity to make a voluntary contribution, the county shall:

1. Recommend a contribution amount;

2. Appropriately notify all users of the recommended contribution amount; and

3. Establish a method for collecting voluntary contributions from users.

(6) A county may establish a combination of copayment and voluntary contribution policies under this chapter that are applicable either among its different transportation systems or within one transportation system.

Note: A county shall use appropriate methods to notify all users about the user fees established under sub. (4) (a) and to notify all users about the recommended contribution established under sub. (5) (b) 1. Appropriate notice methods may be posting written notices within vehicles, printing notices upon collection instruments or providing all individual users a written notice prior to each trip.

(7) A county shall reimburse the department for its share of the value of equipment purchased under this chapter which is sold or removed from specialized transportation service unless the sales proceeds are spent for specialized transportation projects approved by the department.

(8) A county shall have in place a competitive, public procurement process for the purchase of specialized transportation services or equipment with aids allocated under this chapter. All requests for bids or proposals from transportation providers interested in providing the specialized transportation services to be purchased shall be by published, public notice. Request for bids or proposals shall be made for all procurement of specialized transportation goods or services subject to competitive, public procurement under this chapter. A county's procurement process shall include a procedure for resolving complaints and conflicts. A county's decision to reject a proposal may be appealed to the department, but the appeal shall be limited to procedural complaints and the department may not review the substance of a county's decision.

Notes

Wis. Admin. Code Department of Transportation Trans 1.05

Cr. Register, January, 1978, No. 265, eff. 2-1-78; r. and recr. Register, July, 1982, No. 319, eff. 8-1-82; am. (1), r. and recr. (2), cr. (5), Register, January, 1984, No. 337, eff. 2-1-84; r. and recr. (4), renum. (5) to be (7), cr. (5) and (6), Register, May, 1986, No. 365, eff. 6-1-86; am. (7), cr. (8), Register, June, 1988, No. 390, eff. 7-1-88; correction in (4) (d) made under s. 13.93(2m) (b) 12., Stats., Register, December, 1993, No. 456; CR 04-034: am (2) (b), (e) and (f), (3), (7) and (8), r. (2) (g) Register September 2004 No. 585, eff. 10-1-04. Amended by, CR 22-048: am. (3) Register July 2023 No. 811, eff. 8/1/2023