I was honored to be able to attend the official ceremony where Governor Rick Snyder signed into law the Regional Transit Authority bills this afternoon.
Note: Despite some reports, the RTA does include all four counties, including Washtenaw, and the law is effective immediately.
Each County Executive (or equivelent) has 90 days to appoint board members (by mid-March), who will meet for the first time in April.
Washtenaw County is seeking applicants now:
"Applicants must be a registered Washtenaw County voter. Washtenaw County employees, elected officials or employees of a public transportation provider are not eligible to be appointed. Individuals with transportation and land use planning experience, professional transit workers and those with leadership experience will be given preferential consideration.
A cover letter and resume must be submitted by 3 p.m. Friday to [email protected]. Two to four applicants will be selected by an advisory committee for an interview. An advisory committee will host a public interview with the the applicants 8 a.m. Dec. 27 in Room A of the Washtenaw County Learning Resource Center at 4135 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor."
Although other counties have no public plans surrounding their appointments, we encourage them to have a public process and appoint regionally-focused people who will support bold transit progress!