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RVTD tries same levy again in May The Rogue Valley Transportation District will try once again to pass an operating levy to fund its cash-strapped services. The agency's governing board voted unanimously Thursday night to put the levy request on the May ballot, said RVTD General Manager Sherrin Coleman. The proposed operating levy is the same as last fall's failed bid. The operating levy would raise $1.25 million a year for five years. It would cost $17 a year for the owner of a house valued at $100,000 within the district, which covers a large portion of Jackson County. RVTD has asked seven times for an operating levy since 1986, and all the requests have failed. In November, voters rejected the last levy, 61 percent to 38 percent. Coleman said the board hopes the May ballot won't be as crowded with money requests as last November's was. She also hopes the agency does a better job of getting its message across. "We feel that we need to go again and state our case better," Coleman said. The agency is also counting on a high voter turnout because of mail-in ballots. Under state law, the measure must attract a 50 percent voter turnout to pass, which was not the case in November, a general election in an even-numbered year. The levy, which amounts to about a third of RVTD's operating budget, would replace a $1.5 million federal grant that ends in August and has paid for five of 12 RVTD routes. It also would help pay for several new buses. The routes funded by the grant have given more than 120,000 rides in the grant's first year -- about 329 per day. The routes financed by the grant serve the South Gateway Center, Rogue Valley Mall, Rogue Valley Medical Center and Providence Medford Medical Center. Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett said that agencies that have issues on the ballot at elections share the costs for the election. She said that RVTD is looking at an approximate cost of $30,000 for the May ballot. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA