2007 Minnesota Statutes

473.384 CONTRACTS.
    Subdivision 1. Contracts required. The council shall make contracts with eligible recipients
for financial assistance to transit service within the metropolitan area. The council may not give
financial assistance to another transit provider without first having executed a contract. The
provisions of this section do not apply to contracts made under sections 473.386 and 473.388.
    Subd. 2. Eligibility. To be eligible to receive financial assistance by contract under this
section a recipient must be:
(a) a county, statutory or home rule charter city or town or combination thereof, or public
authority organized and existing pursuant to chapter 398A, providing financial assistance to or
providing or operating public transit; or
(b) a private provider of public transit.
    Subd. 3. Applications. The council shall establish procedures and standards for review and
approval of applications for financial assistance under this section. An applicant must provide
the council with the financial and other information the council requires to carry out its duties.
The council may specify procedures, including public hearing requirements, to be followed by
applicants that are cities, towns, or counties or combinations thereof in conducting transit studies
and formulating service plans under subdivisions 4 and 5.
    Subd. 4. Transit study. The council shall require that prior to applying for financial
assistance by contract under clause (a) of subdivision 2, the applicant must prepare and submit a
transit study which includes the following elements:
(a) a determination of existing and future transit needs within the area to be served, and an
assessment of the adequacy of existing service to meet the needs;
(b) an assessment of the level and type of service required to meet unmet needs;
(c) an assessment of existing and future resources available for the financing of transit
service; and
(d) the type or types of any new government arrangements or agreements needed to provide
adequate service.
The transit study for any applicant may be done by the council.
    Subd. 5. Service plan. The council shall, before making a contract with an eligible recipient,
require the submission of a service plan which includes the following elements:
(a) a description of the service proposed for financial assistance, including vehicles, routes,
and schedules;
(b) an assessment of the extent to which the proposed service meets the needs as determined
by the transit study;
(c) a description of the contract administration and review process if the operation of the
proposed service is to be done by a private contractor;
(d) a description of the amount required to establish and operate the proposed service and the
proposed sources of the required amount including operating revenue, other local sources, and
assistance from the council and from federal sources;
(e) the fare structure of the proposed service; and
(f) projections of usage of the system.
The council may specify procedures, including public hearing requirements, to be followed
by applicants that are cities, towns, or counties or combinations thereof in conducting transit
studies and formulating service plans.
    Subd. 6. Financial assistance for certain providers. The council shall provide financial
assistance to recipients who were receiving assistance by contract with the commissioner of
transportation under Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 174.24, subdivision 3 on July 1, 1984,
so that the percentage of total operating cost, as defined by the council, paid by the recipient
from all local sources of revenue, including operating revenue, does not exceed the percentage
for the recipient's classification as determined by the commissioner of transportation under the
commissioner's final contract with the recipient. The council may include funds received under
section 473.446, subdivision 1a, as a local source of revenue. The remainder of the total operating
cost will be paid by the council less all assistance received by the recipient for that purpose
from any federal source.
If a recipient informs the council in writing prior to the distribution of financial assistance
for any year that paying its designated percentage of total operating cost from local sources
will cause undue hardship, the council may adjust the percentage as it deems equitable. If for
any year the funds available to the council are insufficient to allow the council to pay its share of
total operating cost for those recipients, the council shall reduce its share in each classification to
the extent necessary.
    Subd. 7. Transit operations impact assessment. Prior to entering into a contract for
operating assistance with a recipient, the council shall evaluate the effect, if any, of the contract
on the ridership, routes, schedules, fares, and staffing levels of the existing and proposed service
provided by the council. The council may enter into the contract only if it determines that the
service to be assisted under the contract will not impose an undue hardship on the ridership
or financial condition of the council's transit operations. The requirements of this subdivision
do not apply to contracts for assistance to recipients who, as part of a negotiated cost-sharing
arrangement with the council, pay a substantial part of the cost of services that directly benefit
the recipient as an institution or organization.
    Subd. 8. Paratransit contracts. In executing and administering contracts for paratransit
projects, the council has the powers and duties given to the commissioner of transportation in
section 174.255, subdivisions 1 and 2, relating to disability accessibility and insurance coverage.
The provisions of section 174.255, subdivision 3, apply to paratransit projects which receive
assistance by contract with the council.
    Subd. 9.[Repealed, 1994 c 628 art 3 s 209]
History: 1984 c 654 art 3 s 121; 1985 c 248 s 60; 1Sp1985 c 10 s 99; 1986 c 444; 1989 c
269 s 47; 1994 c 628 art 3 s 69-75; 2005 c 56 s 1