Horry County voters decided Tuesday that Coast Regional Transportation Authority should get a dedicated funding source through county property tax revenue.
"I'm very relieved," said Coast General Manager Myers Rollins, as the election returns came in showing that with 94 percent of the precincts reporting at 10 p.m., Coast won 63 percent of voters' support.
Rollins and many Coast staffers, friends and community groups waged a grass-roots campaign for the past 16 weeks, seeking support for the advisory resolution that asked whether the county should give up to 6/10ths of a mill - valued at about $1 million this year - to the area's only mass transit system.
Each year, Coast has to rely on municipal and county governments to budget money so it can continue ferrying workers by bus to their jobs, seniors to their doctors' offices, students to college, veterans and the disabled to their service appointments and tourists to the beach.
But local funding has grown increasingly shaky as cities and counties struggle to meet their other obligations during the recession.
"I am very excited about the referendum passing. This is a defining moment for Coast RTA, and the community needs the service," said Coast Marketing Director Yvette Jefferson.
Through it all, though, Coast has had some staunch supporters, from its regular riders all the way up to Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland.
Gilland, who is leaving office in January, said all she can do is push for funding from the outside, now, because "I won't be there when all the budgeting happens."
Gilland said she would celebrate with Coast supporters and "somewhat breathe a sigh of relief."
Because the referendum is nonbinding, there's "no guarantee they will budget the money, or any money, for Coast next year."
County Councilman Jody Prince, District 10, who will be on council as the budget is worked out next year, said he will support funding for Coast.
Many of the people in his district, he said, have moved here from places where rapid transit is standard, so he wasn't too surprised the referendum won support.
So far this year, Coast RTA has served 576,908 passengers, up 35 percent from last year, though it has lost much of its funding from Myrtle Beach and Conway. Horry County dropped its funding by $200,000 to $500,000 this fiscal year.
Myers said having the millage from the county won't help Coast grow, only maintain current service levels.
But he said he will continue to look for more money that can be leveraged into more federal cash, as well.
"It's a wise investment for the community," Rollins said.
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