AATA OKs Support for Unincorporated 196

At a special meeting held on July 19, 2011, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board authorized appointment of three of its board members to serve on an unincorporated Act 196 board (U196), with the direction to move towards creation of an active Act 196 transit authority for countywide transportation. There was no discussion among board members on this item prior to their vote.

Act 196 of 1986 is a state statute that provides for creation of transit authorities that encompass wider geographic areas than just cities. It’s the legislation on which a countywide authority for Washtenaw County would likely be based. Under one proposal that has been presented by the AATA to various public bodies, a fully incorporated Act 196 board would have 15 members countywide, with seven of them coming from Ann Arbor.

The rationale for appointing only three members of the current AATA board to the U196 board is to avoid the possibility that the actions of four or more members of the AATA board (a quorum of its members) as a part of the U196 would be understood as the action of the AATA board.

The same resolution authorized the AATA’s CEO to use AATA resources to support an unincorporated Act 196 board. The language of the resolution differed in a subtle but significant way from a draft resolution considered but not voted on by the AATA board at a meeting held on June 3 in a retreat-style format at Weber’s Inn. The draft language from that meeting read “… the AATA Chief Executive Officer shall use the resources of the Authority as needed and as appropriate …” The version of the resolution approved by the board at its July 19 meeting read “… the AATA Chief Executive Officer shall use the resources of the Authority as budgeted by the AATA Board.”

Recent Chronicle coverage: “AATA Finalizes Transit Plan for Washtenaw”

This brief was filed shortly after the July 19 AATA board meeting, which took place at the AATA headquarters at 2700 South Industrial Highway. A more detailed report will follow: [link]