On or prior to the beginning of the fifth month before the start of each fiscal year, the authority shall prepare and submit to the authorizing county, the principal municipality, and each municipality which has requested to be served by the authority pursuant to Section 11-32-26, a written budget for the authority for the forthcoming fiscal year. The budget shall be prepared by the authority and shall set forth the number of hours of operation and the anticipated cost per hour of operation for the forthcoming fiscal year for the service requested by each municipality pursuant to Section 11-32-26, exclusive of anticipated fare box revenue, federal operating subsidies and funds received by the authority pursuant to Sections 11-32-24 and 11-32-25; if the cost per hour of operation shall include all costs for the provision of public transportation service, including, but not limited to, the costs of operation, maintenance, administration, and capital costs of the authority. If a municipality requests service which requires that vehicles travel through a municipality which is not served by the authority or on a limited access roadway where there is no pick-up or discharge of passengers, the municipality requesting the service shall assume and be responsible for the operating time of the vehicles from the point of their last scheduled pick-up of passengers until the vehicles reach the city limits of the requesting municipality. The principal municipality shall be authorized to review such budget, and by written notice to the authority given on or prior to the fifteenth day of the fifth month before the start of each fiscal year, reduce such budget in any area in which it deems the budget to be excessive. Neither the authorizing county, principal municipality, nor a participating municipality shall have any further power to approve or disapprove expenditures of the authority.
Last modified: May 3, 2021