A draft of an audit presented at Town and Country Transit's regular board meeting Wednesday shows a financial loss in the shared-ride program, said general manager Scott Kloes.

Otherwise, the report was "positive," he said.

A final draft of the audit, which is required annually, must be sent to the state by the end of the year. The document, which examines the 2008-09 fiscal year, will not be available to the public until it has been finalized, Kloes said. Auditors have been working with Town and Country for much of the year to gather documents.

Additional information is needed by the auditors before finalizing the report, including a statement from management addressing the loss in the shared-ride program. Kloes said the statement will explain how Town and Country is attempting to make the operation profitable.

"The shared-ride program is still struggling to stand on its own," he said.

Two new drivers hired recently will hopefully help Town and Country increase revenue on the shared-ride side, Kloes said.

"We don't need to give these trips away," he said. "These new drivers will help us capture more riders and help us bridge that gap we have in the shared-ride program."

Plus, state funding is starting to stream in for a program implemented in the summer for riders with disabilities.

The audit draft did not show any discrepancies in spending or raise any questions about the agency's finances, Kloes said.

"Those are all good things," he said.

Though the report was not "perfect," Kloes said the agency appears to be in a better position than years past.

"There's a lot of positives in it," Kloes said. "It's no mystery we still have debt."

Town and Country owes about $400,000 on a line of credit and a mortgage, both with Farmers & Merchants Bank, Kloes said.

In another matter, it was reported that Zell Engineering, Inc., a Pittsburgh firm, spent time at Town and Country this week discussing options for a new bus storage facility. The board approved a bid of less than $100,000 from the firm at last month's meeting.

The building will be erected at the intersection of North Grant Avenue and Campbell Street next to Town and Country's offices in Kittanning. A storage facility in that location will be demolished.

The project will be funded by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

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