Uintah County’s joint City-County meeting held on Monday welcomed members of the community as the future of the Basin Transit Authority in Uintah County was discussed. Officials representing Uintah County, Naples, Ballard, and Vernal City meet monthly, working together to address a wide variety of needs within Uintah County. The BTA services and funding was the only item for Monday’s meeting which allowed many community members the opportunity to offer input. Vernal City Manager Quinn Bennion says over 150 members of the public attended and during the public comment portion, 18 community members spoke. All but one supported keeping the BTA system with several speakers emphasizing that the bus fills a critical need for community members who rely on it to get to work and appointments. The speaker who did not support keeping the bus system asked why the County has continued to fund it since the voters failed to pass the sales tax increase on the 2015 and 2017 ballots. Questions were answered and the board members from the Uintah Transportation Special Service District explained that their budget does include the full funds needed for 2019. Uintah County also indicated that they will consider the transit sales tax to keep funds local rather than have sales taxes funding transit systems outside the Uintah Basin.
