START agreement review tees up new ways to allocate transit costs
Town and county electeds will get a no-vote briefing on START’s joint powers agreement, including a fiscal 2027 local-match split ranging from 30/70 to 61/39 depending on the model.
The Town of Jackson and Teton County joint boards are set to review the START Joint Powers Agreement on Nov. 2, with staff presenting side by side cost-allocation options that would shift how each government pays the local match for transit operations, but with no vote planned. The staff packet pegs START’s fiscal 2027 operating cost at about $9.4 million and the combined Town and County operating local match at $2,324,919; under the current 60/40 County/Town split that is about $1.39 million County and $930,000 Town, but a ridership based split would flip that to 41/59 and an hours of service split would move it to 39/61 agenda staff packet.
The record in the current joint meeting packet shows the joint boards were already aiming at a bigger rewrite. In September, after approving fiscal 2027 service cuts and new revenue to close a budget hole, both boards discussed next steps that included bringing back “a proposed new Joint Powers Agreement by the end” of 2026 joint packet.
Background
The START Joint Powers Agreement is under review on November 2, 2026, focusing on funding split updates and governance, with no immediate amendments expected.
Latest: 2026-11-02 — County Commissioners scheduled to review the START JPA, focusing on funding and governance updates.
curated as of 2026-11-02
In FY27, County and Town approved $750,000 in new START funding (48% County, 32% Town, 20% partners) to prevent deeper service cuts and close a $1.5M budget gap.
Latest: 2026-11-02 — County and Town formally directed staff to work with TVA and business partners to secure $150,000 by December 15, 2026, to offset fare increases/service cuts.
curated as of 2026-10-29
On September 14, 2026, Teton County Commissioners will discuss a $44,000 START Budget Amendment by Mike Toronto to cover a SaaS overage, alongside broader amendments for a $1.5M federal funding shortfall.
Latest: 2026-09-14 — Joint Board scheduled to discuss and potentially approve the $44,000 SaaS amendment and the broader $1.5 million budget amendment.
curated as of 2026-09-11