The Town and Country Transit board’s first cost-cutting measure could result in a savings of $18,000, according to consultants hired to evaluate the agency’s operations.

The board voted unanimously Wednesday during a special meeting to reduce its fixed-route bus service and consolidate two trips in the shared-ride service. The changes are expected to begin March 30.

“Our goal is not to shrink Town and Country Transit … but it gets us to where we need to be on July 1,” said Laurie Andrews, president of Clear View Strategies consulting company.

Town and Country has been under scrutiny by state and local officials in recent months after it was revealed the agency is in significant debt. Meetings have been held locally to identify ways to boost ridership and public relations to keep the agency afloat.

Consultants from Clear View Strategies in Pittsburgh presented their findings to the board Wednesday after a few weeks on-site. Their report included a list of recommendations the consultants are asking the board to approve at its regular meeting on March 18 at 4 p.m.

PennDOT officials have insisted that the board implement the recommendations of the consultants, who were hired by PennDOT. Recommendations made by consultants in the past have not been heeded by the authority.

Adjustments between weekday bus routes will be made with one added destination, Andrews said. The biggest change will be on Saturday when service will be reduced by 50 percent — the same routes will be followed by a single vehicle instead of multiple ones, she said.

Ford Cliff will not be served by buses, she said.

The adjustments will ensure that buses will arrive at a location every hour, Andrews said, which will “give people a comfort level and a little bit of reassurance.”

Two trips made by the shared-ride service to Rural Valley and Dayton senior centers will be reduced to one trip, she said.

The consultants revised Town and Country’s 2008-09 budget and found that the agency’s outstanding bills exceeded $191,000. Agency staff has since negotiated payment plans for most of the debt, according to the consultants.

In the consultants’ eyes, making up Town and Country’s debt by the end of the fiscal year on June 30 is possible, provided the board approves their recommendations. Other debts — loan payments and a mortgage — will take a bit of time, she said.

“We can definitely make up that difference, that’s not an insurmountable amount of money,” Andrews said. “It was better news than we expected.”

The ability for the agency to have the opportunity to do so is the result of decreased fuel costs, cooperation, creativity and reduction of service, she said.

One of the first problems the consultants tackled upon arriving at the agency was Town and Country’s past-due insurance premium. The agency’s insurance was about to be canceled, said Lynn Colosi, senior vice president of Clear View Strategies.

“It was an issue that really caught us all by surprise,” she said.

A payment plan has since been figured out after a $19,828 premium due on Dec. 31 was left unpaid by Town and Country, she said.

Participation from member municipalities is key to Town and Country’s survival, Colosi said. Local entities need to contribute about 15 percent — or $75,000 — of Town and Country’s budget, she said. Currently, the local contribution is about $28,000.

The consultants addressed other facets that could be improved, such as a software program used for the shared-ride service, information about each of the agency’s services for internal and public use, data usage and analysis

Patti Lynn Baker, manager of finance, and Gerry Miller, operations manager, are handling the Town and Country’s operations for now. Both said the consultants have been receptive to their ideas.

Baker and Miller had been working prior to the consultants’ arrival to find ways to improve the agency’s existing relationships with vendors, the Area Agency on Aging and municipalities.

“It was nice to see we already had a head start” in an area that has been less than “stellar,” Colosi said.

Baker and Miller took over after former general manager Michael Johnston retired last month.

Town and Country Transit board is expected to vote on the following recommendations made by the consultants at next week’s meeting in order to balance the budget by June 30:

• Increase local match from member municipalities by 5 percent annually until the goal amount is reached.

• Auction off unused vehicles, including the former general manager’s sport-utility vehicle purchased in July 2002 with almost 190,000 miles on it, according to the consultants’ report.

• Endorse the implementation of a new component to the shared-ride service for people with disabilities. State funding is available for the service, Colosi said, and that money would help Town and Country update and prepare the service for an added component.

• Give the OK to update software.

• Develop comprehensive information materials for customers, such as a bus schedule, fare rates and other supplemental brochures.

• Fill the general manager position, which can be done by hiring someone or contracting with a third-party provider.

In other news:

• Town and Country’s plans to build a bus storage facility near its North Grant Street office are progressing, Colosi said. The agency identified the need a couple of years ago and has received funding, she said.

Preliminary research is expected to begin next month with construction happening late next year, she said.

• Two new members of the transit board were present at the meeting. Dave Stewart of East Franklin and John Lux of Ford City have been appointed by their respective municipalities to participate on the transit authority board.

The next meeting of the Town and Country Transit board will be March 18 at 4 p.m. at the authority’s office on North Grant Street in Kittanning.

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