Budget cuts threaten RMTD Belvidere plans

By Thomas V. Bona

BusinessRockford.com

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ROCKFORD — Rockford Mass Transit District wants to start a regular route to Belvidere next year, but looming state budget cuts threaten those plans.

RMTD officials said today they fear they’ll have less operating money after lawmakers take steps to balance the state budget in coming days.

A Belvidere route would likely be a loop that connects the Chrysler Group LLC plant, the Wal-Mart Supercenter, the Keen Center for Aging, downtown and a planned transportation center near Irene Road. It would connect to other RMTD routes at a new east-side transfer center on Lyford Road near East State Street.

But it could cost more than $1 million in operating funds a year, RMTD Executive Director Rick McVinnie said. And he’s worried that lawmakers may cut a nearly $800,000 increase in subsidies that RMTD got this year and hasn’t used yet.

“We want to make sure they don’t think just because we didn’t use it this past year, there’s not plans to use it in the future,” McVinnie said.

He also urged Gov. Pat Quinn to sign a capital construction plan that would buy three new buses for a Rockford-Belvidere route. The plan, approved by the General Assembly, has been on Quinn’s desk for more than a month, and he’s said he won’t sign it until the overall state budget is balanced.

RMTD and local officials have talked about a Belvidere route for several years.

Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton said a bus route won’t just help Boone County residents get to work and recreational activities, it also could help Rockford residents get to work in Boone County. For example, the Chrysler plant employs a lot of people in Winnebago County.

“As a growing community, it’s a logical next step,” he said.

A Belvidere route won’t start until the new transfer center is opened late next summer or next fall. RMTD officials hope to break ground yet this year.

The district will start a systemwide route study this fall, looking to see what routes need to be adjusted and where it could expand service.

Contact staff writer Thomas V. Bona at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

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