Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a)
Responsibilities for planning, implementation and oversight. County government
grantees of program financial assistance shall have the following
responsibilities and obligations for the planning and implementation of
coordinated services:
(1) Provide oversight
and management of the State grant and grant expenditures through the
designation of a grant manager who is an employee of the county government or a
public transportation authority and who is capable and in a position to provide
such oversight;
(2) Provide,
through specific appropriations in adopted county budgets, the county funds
required by this Part as the local share and forward copies of same to the
Department upon request;
(3)
Services coordinator. Designate, by resolution, and engage the services of the
County's Services Coordinator as required by this Part and in accordance with
Department guidelines for same; if the Coordinator is not a county or public
transportation authority employee, the county shall enter into a formal
contract with the Coordinator and that contract must be approved by the
Department. A rural county may terminate the services of its Services
Coordinator at any time, following established county procedures for same, or
may change its designation of a Services Coordinator at any time in accordance
with this Part. The County's Service Coordinator shall be responsible for the
preparation of, and the initial steps leading to implementation of, the
county's coordinated public transportation service plan. The party selected may
be an individual, authority, agency, consultant firm or corporation. If the
party designated is an agency, authority or corporation, it is important that
responsibility for the actual preparation of the plan document be clearly
assigned to one person, who is also named. The Services Coordinator must be an
individual who can fairly and equitably address the needs of all transportation
disadvantaged persons and the general public, without giving preference to any
one population sub-group or clientele. The Coordinator should be a competent
and neutral party who can develop a close working relationship with a variety
of agencies and transportation providers, sometimes having differing objectives
or concerns.
(4) Enter into a grant
agreement with the State and fulfill the terms of that Agreement;
(5) Encourage local agencies and
transportation providers to participate in the county's coordinated service
program to the maximum extent feasible;
(6) Appoint a local citizens advisory
committee representing a cross-section of the county's population to advise the
county throughout development, implementation and operation of its coordinated
public transportation service plan. The committee shall consist solely of local
citizens and local agency or provider representatives; employees of State or
federal agencies shall not be committee members. Advisory committee membership
shall be in accordance with Department guidelines. The county's Services
Coordinator may chair the committee;
(7) Cause its designated Services Coordinator
to request, from public and private agencies receiving federal, state or local
aid in that county, such information or data related to transportation
services, facilities, equipment, usage, costs, revenues and funds as he or she
may deem necessary for the preparation, revision, updating and implementation
of the county's coordinated public transportation service plan.
(8) Cause its Services Coordinator to prepare
a draft county public transportation service plan in accordance with Department
guidelines and forward a copy of such plan to the Department for review.
Following any modifications of the draft plan based upon the Department's
review, conduct a formal public hearing on the draft plan; such hearing shall
be conducted with a minimum of ten days notice and in accordance with
Department guidelines, to maximize the opportunity for transportation
disadvantaged persons and the general public to attend and state their
views;
(9) Following modification
of the draft county plan by its Services Coordinator based on comments received
at the public hearing, formally adopt the plan by resolution of the county's
governing body and submit it to the Department for approval;
(10) Establish a process, as part of its
draft plan, for choosing its Coordinated Service Operator (CSO) and designate
its CSO following that process, in accordance with section
980.8
of this Part;
(11) Take
administrative or other procedural steps to direct, to the county's coordinated
service operator, county human service agency program funds that are in whole
or in part currently being used to provide passenger transportation services;
such re-directed funds may be counted towards the county's required share of
program operating assistance;
(12)
Upon completion of the grant work, prepare and submit to the Department, a
certified, auditable financial statement for the grant, certified by the chief
executive or financial officer of the County or by an independent accounting
firm, identifying actual grant costs incurred, State funds received, State
funds expended or encumbered and county funds expended. Such certified
financial statement shall be submitted on forms, and in accordance with
instructions, provided by the Department, and is subject to audit by the
State;
(13) Continue to provide
policy and administrative oversight of its coordinated public transportation
service on a sustained basis, throughout the planning, implementation and
operational phases of its program;
(14) Provide, or cause its contractors to
provide, periodic reports which evaluate the performance, effectiveness and
efficiency of its transportation service, in accordance with Department
guidelines;
(b)
Termination of grantee responsibilities. A rural county's grant activities in
its coordinated public transportation service program may be terminated at any
time upon written notice of same to the Department by its chief elected
official. If so, the county shall return to the Department any unexpended State
grant funds paid to the county together with the certified financial statement
in compliance with this Part.