DANVILLE — "The system's running very well," Sycamore Services' Marcia Lynch recently told the Hendricks County Commissioners of LINK.
The service, run out of the Hendricks County Senior Center, provides transportation for anyone in the county for a fee. Commissioners recently approved renewing LINK's annual operating grant.
This year's federal grant is for $493,573, considerably less than the previous year's allocation of $527,000. However, Lynch said the program didn't come close to spending all that money, even with more vehicles and clients.
"We have not used near that; we are way below budget this year, even though we've added 10 new vehicles to the fleet," she said.
The reason for the $75,000 increase last year is because the person in charge of that division of the Indiana Department of Transportation had a $2 million surplus that he didn't want to keep on his books, so he ordered his staff to allocate it.
"In this case it was more than what we anticipated needing, but we had to fill out the budget accordingly," Lynch said. "We haven't taken the stance, Ôwe've got the money, let's use it.' We've operated the system as it's needed and will have a surplus at the end of the year."
Last year LINK made 68,000 trips. Lynch estimates the service will perform more than 73,000 this year, a 6.5 percent increase.
"It continues to grow each year," she said. "One exciting fact for this year is that up until the time we received our 10 stimulus vans, there was a two-week wait for a LINK ride. We have that wait down to next-day. We are fulfilling the needs of more people and doing it on a timely basis."
LINK fees are $3 per one-way trip within town limits or $4 outside or between town limits. To schedule a trip, e-mail yvonne@hendricksseniors.org or call 718-4474.
In other business, commissioners approved a request for proposals from companies for the county's insurance, and funding for the process from the Hendricks County Council.
Stevenson-Jensen has insured the county for years. The county's insurance has been rated good to fair, though there's concern over workman's compensation being adequately covered.
"This certainly has nothing to do with the service provided by Stevenson-Jensen for many years," Commission President David Whicker said. "With that said, I still think we're more prudent to ask for an RFP at this time."
Added Commissioner Phyllis Palmer, "As much as I hate to spend the money, I would agree because we've been entrusted with taxpayer money and have had criticism against us that we can save money. I think it would demonstrate that we're at least inclined to look at the program and see if there are any savings."
Although Commissioner Eric Wathen ultimately voted in favor of an RFP, he said, "I think when you have a relationship with someone as long as we have, you're better off trying to work with them, negotiate better prices, and try to solve any deficiencies. It's easy for people who haven't been involved in the situation to say they can save us money."
Commissioners also authorized the county's Voter Registration Office to receive $72,500 from the state as part of the Help America Vote Act. Hendricks is one of 18 counties designated a "Super Responsible County" by the Secretary of State's office.
"We had the foresight, in 1998 and 2001, to start updating our voting system," County Election Supervisor Laura Herzog said. "So we're being rewarded for our good thinking."
She said the money will be used to buy new voting equipment.
wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com
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