This week, TBARTA finally chose an executive director to lead the new agency into the next decade or so. Bob Clifford, currently the planning director for FDOT District 7, which covers the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties), was selected for the position after being interim director since the agency’s inception.
The problem is….where’s the money?
TBARTA, to this day, has no funding structure in place. Furthermore, efforts to have TBARTA as a taxing district has failed. So the question remains for the agency, where will the money come from?
See the full article here…
The Global Transit Guidebook 
That might explain why Polk County officials were hesitant to join. They didn't want to get sucked into a financial commitment. With no dedicated funding, you can bet the members will be asked for money.
Absolutely. And I don't blame Polk Co. govt at all. TBARTA is nothing more than a vacuum of sorts right now because it has no real internal structure. Hopefully, things for the agency will improve over the next several years. But, don't count on too many big changes given the current recession.