Cabarrus County Commissioner Chris Measmer said he opposed applying for a transportation grant that would help struggling residents get to work or job training, igniting a debate over the program during the Cabarrus County commissioner meeting last week.
“There’s been a dependency on every level of government,” Measmer said. “People have done away with their personal responsibility and relied on the government. This is just another example of that. We can do what we can here and let folks take personal responsibility to get to and from work.”
The Job Access and Reverse Commute grant is an employment based grant designed to provide transportation to Cabarrus County residents to help them get to and from work or job-related training. The program was established to address the transportation challenges faced by welfare recipients and low-income individuals seeking work, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Many new entry-level jobs are located in suburban areas, and low-income individuals have difficulty accessing those jobs from urban or rural neighborhoods, according to the Federal Transit Administration. The jobs also frequently require working late or on weekends when other transit services are unavailable.
The current local program, called Cabarrus Links, serves Mount Pleasant, Harrisburg, Concord, Kannapolis and Midland. In December, the program averaged 90 riders per day.
The grant would expand the program to provide transportation to and from the Cabarrus Vocational Opportunities Workshop, a nonprofit rehabilitation facility that provides work adjustment, vocational training and long-term or transitory employment and life skills for people with disabilities.
The total cost of the grant will be $709,050 for two years. A local match of $359,362 is required over the two years.
“I just have a problem with this one, and spending $360,000 of county dollars on a program of this nature,” Measmer said.
Other commissioners disagreed with Measmer’s opinion about the expense.
“It goes beyond personal responsibility,” Commissioner Bob Carruth said. “Someone has the gumption to find a way to get to work and that’s a barrier to get to work. This is not a ‘gimme’ program. This is a program of providing assistance to a person who would otherwise become a ward of the state.”
Commissioner Jay White agreed with Carruth.
“I think it would be a travesty for us to not vote for this,” White said, adding that the county would spend more in services for the people who use the transportation if they could not work.
“It’s going to cost the county more than $180,000 a year in services,” White said. “You are talking about people who are working and feel good about themselves.”
Commissioner approved the grant request in a 4-1 vote with Measmer voting against it. White made the motion to approve the request. Commissioner Larry Burrage seconded the motion.
The discussion about the transportation grant is not the first time commissioners have discussed the merits of a program that assists the poor. Earlier this year, commissioners rejected $75,000 in federal stimulus money granted through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that would have helped weatherize low-income families’ and individuals’ homes.
Contact staff writer Karen Cimino Wilson: 704-789-9141.
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