Photo: Sheena Roszell

By Shaun Penner

Disabled Transportation

Given surprised by DTS statement; committed to finding sustainable solution

May 31, 2019 | 12:05 PM

Following the Disabled Transportation Society’s announcement of cutting back their services earlier this week due to a lack of funding from the City, Mayor Bill Given says he and the rest of Council are surprised the organization feels that way.

The cutbacks mean that starting tomorrow, June 1, DTS will only be serving priority one clients, which are those who are in wheelchairs and need a ride for medical, employment or educational reasons. All other services will be stopped, with the potential of the organization fully shuttering by the end of the month if an agreement with the city doesn’t come through.

Given doesn’t feel though that funding is really the issue for the organization, as he explained to EverythingGP that for the year 2019, the city has already committed to providing the organization with nearly $1 million in funding.

“That amount has not changed. The City has not cut any funding since we approved the budget last fall,” said Given. “The fact is that over the last four years, funding and support for DTS has increased by about 26%.”

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That included over $600,000 coming from the Community Group Funding budget back in December. The organization also received $100,000 from the County of Grande Prairie back at the beginning of May.

The issue, as stated by DTS Board Chair Barry Menard and echoed by Given, is that the demand for the service has become to large for the management structure of DTS. The organization is managed by a volunteer-board and has a current operating budget of $1.1 million.

Menard explained on Wednesday that the City taking over operations may be the best solution for the organization going forward, but Given says all options must be looked at before any decisions can be made.

“We have to make sure all the options are on the table. We really need to re-examine the system as a whole and say, ‘how can we best provide service to the clients?’” said Given. “I think as a community we need to come together and figure out what sort of options that will provide the best service well into the future.”

Given says that talks between the City and the Board of DTS will be on-going throughout the month of June to ensure that the service can continue operating, as Given understands the importance of having a service like this in the community.

“There’s obviously going to be a lot of work ahead of us as we try to figure out what the future looks like, and I can completely understand that that is scary for some people who rely on this service,” said Given. “But we are entering a period where there is going to be some change and we’re all going to have to work to navigate that together. But we’re absolutely committed to ensuring that people have access to the services that they need.”