Know the Ballot: Transportation Services for Elderly and Disabled Persons

Ingham County voters will decide Aug. 4 whether to renew a millage that funds public transportation services for senior citizens and people with disabilities. The millage has been in place for at least 20 years, according to Ingham County Deputy Controller Jared Cypher.

If voters approve the millage, it will be renewed for six years, until 2032. The millage will levy .6 mills, or 60 cents per $1,000 of taxable value on property owners. This means the millage would cost the owner of a home with a market value of $200,000 and a taxable value of $100,000 about $60 per year, Cypher said.

If it is renewed, the millage is expected to provide more than $6.1 million in the first year. The funding is collected by the county, which then contracts with Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, to provide the services. 

Brandi Yates, director of marketing for CATA, told East Lansing Info that the millage funded 32,349 rides in fiscal year 2025.

Cypher said the millage funding is split into three areas, the majority of which is used for Spec-Tran services, providing seniors with door-to-door transportation that “helps keep folks in their homes and independent,” he said.

The other main facet of the program is CATA rural service, which supports Ingham County seniors who live in areas such as Williamston and Mason. Rural service connects people living in outlying areas of Ingham County with main CATA lines.

About $180,000 annually is set aside to work with the county’s Veterans Affairs Department, Cypher said. 

“It transports veterans to medical appointments specifically at the hospital in Ann Arbor,” he said. “They have a van that goes there. It pays for the van, and it pays for the driver.”