Elected officials from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County came together with representatives from GoTriangle Thursday evening to discuss budgetary issues related to the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project.

The groups are now hurrying to come up with enough money to fill a gap in the current budget that was created by a recent change in federal policy.

The Federal Transit Administration has said it would reimburse 50 percent of the total cost of the project.

It was initially expected to pay $125 million dollars per year over an eight-year period, but GoTraingle project director Danny Rodgers said FTA has decided to give $100 million per year over a ten-year period instead.

“It still takes about eight years to realized the reimbursement,” Rodgers said. “We will construct it faster than that, so our expenditures are going to outpace our revenues, so basically we’re having to front that money.”

In order to cover the $200 million gap, GoTriangle is attempting to raise private funding, totaling $25 million dollars. Rodgers said GoTriangle is hoping for Durham and Orange Counties to cover the rest of the gap.

“That would come out to about $175 million to get us to the $200 million,” he said. About $13.5 million from Durham and $4 million from Orange (per year).”

Rodgers said the money would not be required until 2020, when construction is scheduled to begin and after the project received a funding grant.

However, both counties are under a time constraint. The project is currently part of the New Starts Program, which is the federal grant program that funds major transportation projects.

In order to remain in the New Starts Program, the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project must move from the planning stage to the engineering stage before February.

For that to happen, it needs a plan in place to cover the funding gap before the end of December. This would require both counties to approve potential funding for covering the gap as soon as possible.

GoTriangle is looking for Orange County commissioners to approve this in its meeting December 5.

“(The county) is not necessarily committing the money,” Rodgers said. “But you are committing to working with us and your municipalities to find a way to make that happen.”

The problem is further compounded by the recent decision by the state to drop its funding commitment from 25 percent of the total cost to 10 percent. This is a difference of around $240 million.

Orange County Board of Commissioners chairman Earl McKee said he is worried about the county having to cover both gaps.

“My fear is this four million dollar gap that we’re going to be asked to cover each year is going to cause a three cent, at a minimum, tax increase that is dedicated to this project when we should not be asking that,” McKee said.

Chapel Hill mayor Pam Hemminger said she wanted to see light rail come to Orange County.

“We know the need and the desire now,” she said. “But there’s some big decisions to be made and I want it to work.

Should the project not receive approval for possible additional funding from the counties, Rodgers said it could delay the project at least a year.

Once out of the New Starts Program, the project would not be eligible for any reimbursements until it qualified once again.

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