By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The only options to save Clayton County’s bus system are federal funding or if the state Legislature allows the sales tax to be raised, commissioners said.

And that’s unlikely to happen before March 2010 – when C-Tran service is slated to end.

“It’s in the hands of the legislature,” Commissioner Wole Ralph said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the commission voted 4-1 to terminate its contract with MARTA, which operates the county’s bus system.

The four commissioners who voted to end service issued a statement saying that the county could no longer afford to run the buses.

“Given the present economic climate and the need to adequately fund the services which are a primary function of county government, the board made the decision to eliminate funding of C-Tran,” the statement reads. “Should sufficient grant funding or support from the state become available, the board is prepared to revisit their decision.”

According to the statement, the commissioners said they believe the county is responsible for funding public safety, courts, emergency services, parks and the paving of roads. Transportation should be funded  by the state, the statement reads.

Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, the only vote in support of keeping bus service, is calling for referendum for a one-cent sales tax to fund C-Tran.

But Clayton already charges the maximum 7 percent sales tax. The legislature would have to approve any increases before a referendum can be placed on the ballot.

That’s not likely to happen, Ralph said.

The legislature caps sales tax at 7 percent. Three years, Clayton asked for this cap to be lifted and the request was denied, Ralph said. Other counties have also had their requests turned down, he said.

One exception is the city of Atlanta, but the General Assembly only allowed the city's sales taxes to be raised to 8 cents to accommodate a federal mandate to upgrade sewers.

On Wednesday, Bell said he requested a meeting with the head of the Clayton delegation.

State Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam (D-Riverdale) said she has been trying to talk to commissioners since May about C-Tran’s budget woes, but has not received any call backs.

“I don’t know what they are considering because they are not talking to us,” said Abdul-Salaam, who serves on the legislature's transportation committee. “If we knew what they were thinking, maybe we could help.”

Abdul-Salaam said she would be willing to support increasing the sales tax and other options, including reconsidering Delta’s tax break.

“I’m 110 percent in favor of saving C-Tran and enhancing it,” she said. “In an economic downturn, the last thing you want to do is create more unemployed people.”

State Rep. Darryl Jordan (D-Riverdale), who also sits on the transportation committee, did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday.

It’s also too late to get a referendum on the ballot this year. March 2010 is the earliest a county-wide vote could be held, county elections director Annie Bright said.

Clayton started C-Tran five years ago  under a federal grant, Commissioner Michael Edmondson said. Over the years, that grant has decreased and fares do not fully subsidize the service.

“This reduction in federal subsidies has left Clayton County government with approximately an $8 million annual cost to bear alone in order to provide this service,” the commissioners’ statement reads.

The county also cannot use property taxes to pay for transportation services, Edmondson said.

Two years ago, the county signed a contract with MARTA to operate 24 C-Tran buses. The contract costs about $8.1 million a year, along with an additional $2 million for fuel, insurance and other costs, county officials said.

Bell said the county can cover all but $1.3 million of that price tag. He said he is confident that $1.3 million can be raised with a sales tax increase.

Other than sales tax, the only way C-Tran can be saved is with federal funding, Ralph said.

Commissioner Sonna Singleton said she did not want to comment other than what was in the board’s statement. Commissioner Gail Hambrick did not return phone calls Tuesday night or Wednesday.

College Park resident Jacques Swafford said he thinks a penny sales tax vote is the best option to fund the bus service, which he says he depends on daily.

“People died for the right to vote,” he told commissioners Tuesday night. “We need you all to do your job.”

C-Tran had about 2 million rides last year, Bell said. Sixty percent of those rides were for people going to work and about 9 percent were people going to school. And 65 percent of riders said they have no other transportation option, Bell said.

Cobb County had 4.5 million rides on its 95 buses last year, according to Cobb spokesman Robert Quigley.