The Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) Board of Directors will hold a public hearing at 4 p.m. today in the State College Municipal Building to discuss issues regarding CATA's service to the community.

CATA's current financial problem, which may result in the company cutting 5 percent of its services, stems from increasing operating costs and a lack of increased state funding, said Eric Bernier, CATA service development manager. He added that $300,000 might have to be cut from CATA's budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Bernier said the CATA board wants input from the community regarding the proposed service cuts in order to maximize rider accommodation.

Proposed service cuts include eliminating weekday evening and Saturday service for the H, W and P routes; starting the morning N, R and V routes later; and reducing the frequency of Friday and Saturday evening service for the N, R and V routes, according to CATA's Web site (www.catabus.com).

"The public will have quite a bit of influence at the meeting," Bernier said. "We have a long history of incorporating the public's requests into our services."

State College Borough Council President Tom Daubert said there are many places where students depend on CATA for transportation to and from class.

"CATA simply can't cut service to areas with a lot of student housing, like Waupelani Drive," he said.

Daubert said the hearing is more significant than usual because the community's input is the first step toward trimming the budget. He added that Borough Council usually has a CATA liaison, but the position has not been assigned to a council member yet.

Bernier said the proposed service cuts were determined by analyzing various factors, including the average number of riders, the time of day and the day of the week. Additional revenue sources to be discussed at the hearing include asking for more funding from local municipalities, selling exterior bus advertising and raising the price of bus passes and fares.

Bernier said State College is one of the last places in Pennsylvania without exterior bus advertising.

"We have resisted exterior advertising on a board and staff level as a matter of principle," he said. "The town is unique, and exterior advertising would be in direct conflict with what so many of us like about State College."

Bernier said that a fare increase is a last resort; it can be counterproductive because the loss of riders can negate the additional revenue gained.

For the past three years, CATA has avoided service cuts by using funds from its budget surplus to make up for the lack of state funding. The surplus is now depleted, but the funding problem remains, Bernier said.

The decision was made three years ago to use the surplus as a temporary fix because a resolution on a federal level was expected, and so CATA could continue to grow, said council member Elizabeth Goreham. "It's time to think not just about today, but about how to make CATA better in the future," Goreham said. Pennsylvania is in need of a statewide public transit resolution, with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia "in even worse shape," Bernier said.

"When big cities are in dire need, there's more political will to do something in Harrisburg," council member Cathy Dauler said. "Smaller communities like ours can benefit from that."

A work session to balance CATA's budget will take place in mid-March.