Cape Girardeau County commissioners agreed Tuesday to pay $70,000 to Cape County Transit Authority for 2008.

Last year, the county approved $50,000, of which $30,000 was earmarked for debt retirement. The 2008 money also includes a stipulation that $30,000 be used to pay the transit authority's debt.

Tom Mogelnicki, the transit authority's interim executive director, asked the county to add at least $20,000 to create a financial cushion to accommodate radical fuel price changes. Last year, he said, the transit authority paid $150,000 for fuel.

"We use 5,000 gallons of fuel a month," he said, adding that each 10-cent rise in the per-gallon price of gas, over the course of a month, costs $500 more. The price of gas has risen nearly 70 cents per gallon in the last year.

Danielle Waites, the transit authority's business and finance manager, said the county money was vital, especially in light of the loss earlier this year of a $75,000 grant administered through MoDOT. She said the transit authority is trying to defray costs by selling ads that people can put on the vehicles, which brings in about $20,000 a year.

The transit authority operates 27 vehicles, a mix of taxis, buses and wheelchair-accessible vans.

Earlier this year, the city of Cape Girardeau approved $40,000 in funding, but held back $20,000 until after a January progress report from Mogelnicki. The Jackson Board of Aldermen approved $6,000. The county's senior board approved $55,000 for transit operations and $45,000 to subsidize the senior coupon program. A senior rider can use a $3 coupon to travel anywhere in Cape Girardeau County.

The county commission also agreed to pay $16,000 to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri; $5,000 for the county's soil and water conservation program; and set aside $12,500 to acquire the old federal building at 339 Broadway in Cape Girardeau.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127