New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter VI - Transportation Regulations › Subchapter G - Mass Transportation Operating Assistance › Part 980 - Rural Public Transportation Coordination Assistance Program Rules And Regulations › Section 980.7 - Responsibilities of grantees

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
				  Responsibilities for planning, implementation and oversight. County government
				  grantees of program financial assistance shall have the following
				  responsibilities and obligations for the planning and implementation of
				  coordinated services:
(1) Provide oversight
				  and management of the State grant and grant expenditures through the
				  designation of a grant manager who is an employee of the county government or a
				  public transportation authority and who is capable and in a position to provide
				  such oversight;
(2) Provide,
				  through specific appropriations in adopted county budgets, the county funds
				  required by this Part as the local share and forward copies of same to the
				  Department upon request;
(3)
				  Services coordinator. Designate, by resolution, and engage the services of the
				  County's Services Coordinator as required by this Part and in accordance with
				  Department guidelines for same; if the Coordinator is not a county or public
				  transportation authority employee, the county shall enter into a formal
				  contract with the Coordinator and that contract must be approved by the
				  Department. A rural county may terminate the services of its Services
				  Coordinator at any time, following established county procedures for same, or
				  may change its designation of a Services Coordinator at any time in accordance
				  with this Part. The County's Service Coordinator shall be responsible for the
				  preparation of, and the initial steps leading to implementation of, the
				  county's coordinated public transportation service plan. The party selected may
				  be an individual, authority, agency, consultant firm or corporation. If the
				  party designated is an agency, authority or corporation, it is important that
				  responsibility for the actual preparation of the plan document be clearly
				  assigned to one person, who is also named. The Services Coordinator must be an
				  individual who can fairly and equitably address the needs of all transportation
				  disadvantaged persons and the general public, without giving preference to any
				  one population sub-group or clientele. The Coordinator should be a competent
				  and neutral party who can develop a close working relationship with a variety
				  of agencies and transportation providers, sometimes having differing objectives
				  or concerns.
(4) Enter into a grant
				  agreement with the State and fulfill the terms of that Agreement;
(5) Encourage local agencies and
				  transportation providers to participate in the county's coordinated service
				  program to the maximum extent feasible;
(6) Appoint a local citizens advisory
				  committee representing a cross-section of the county's population to advise the
				  county throughout development, implementation and operation of its coordinated
				  public transportation service plan. The committee shall consist solely of local
				  citizens and local agency or provider representatives; employees of State or
				  federal agencies shall not be committee members. Advisory committee membership
				  shall be in accordance with Department guidelines. The county's Services
				  Coordinator may chair the committee;
(7) Cause its designated Services Coordinator
				  to request, from public and private agencies receiving federal, state or local
				  aid in that county, such information or data related to transportation
				  services, facilities, equipment, usage, costs, revenues and funds as he or she
				  may deem necessary for the preparation, revision, updating and implementation
				  of the county's coordinated public transportation service plan.
(8) Cause its Services Coordinator to prepare
				  a draft county public transportation service plan in accordance with Department
				  guidelines and forward a copy of such plan to the Department for review.
				  Following any modifications of the draft plan based upon the Department's
				  review, conduct a formal public hearing on the draft plan; such hearing shall
				  be conducted with a minimum of ten days notice and in accordance with
				  Department guidelines, to maximize the opportunity for transportation
				  disadvantaged persons and the general public to attend and state their
				  views;
(9) Following modification
				  of the draft county plan by its Services Coordinator based on comments received
				  at the public hearing, formally adopt the plan by resolution of the county's
				  governing body and submit it to the Department for approval;
(10) Establish a process, as part of its
				  draft plan, for choosing its Coordinated Service Operator (CSO) and designate
				  its CSO following that process, in accordance with section
				  980.8 
				  of this Part;
(11) Take
				  administrative or other procedural steps to direct, to the county's coordinated
				  service operator, county human service agency program funds that are in whole
				  or in part currently being used to provide passenger transportation services;
				  such re-directed funds may be counted towards the county's required share of
				  program operating assistance;
(12)
				  Upon completion of the grant work, prepare and submit to the Department, a
				  certified, auditable financial statement for the grant, certified by the chief
				  executive or financial officer of the County or by an independent accounting
				  firm, identifying actual grant costs incurred, State funds received, State
				  funds expended or encumbered and county funds expended. Such certified
				  financial statement shall be submitted on forms, and in accordance with
				  instructions, provided by the Department, and is subject to audit by the
				  State;
(13) Continue to provide
				  policy and administrative oversight of its coordinated public transportation
				  service on a sustained basis, throughout the planning, implementation and
				  operational phases of its program;
(14) Provide, or cause its contractors to
				  provide, periodic reports which evaluate the performance, effectiveness and
				  efficiency of its transportation service, in accordance with Department
				  guidelines;