Joint Board to weigh mix of cuts, fares, and General Fund for $1.5M gap

The Town Council and Teton County commissioners, sitting as the Joint Board, are set to decide Aug. 31 whether to use some mix of service reductions, fare increases, and General Fund money to close START Bus’s $1.5 million FY 2027 budget hole tied to reduced federal funding START budget amendment packet.

From a boots-on-the-ground conservation lens, the decision matters because transit is one of the few tools this valley has that can reduce peak-season traffic pressure, vehicle-wildlife collisions, and roadside emissions without pretending we can build our way out of congestion. The packet lays out “five alternatives that the Joint Board can use to fill the funding gap,” and explicitly includes a blended approach as one option. If leaders lean on a combination strategy rather than a single fix, watch for how much of the gap is covered with General Fund dollars versus rider-facing changes, and whether any service reductions fall on routes that keep people out of private vehicles on the Highway 22, 390, and commuter corridors that slice through big-game habitat and winter range Special joint meeting agenda packet.