The fate of continued free bus service between Aspen and Snowmass Village — and who's going to pay for it — is back on the table Thursday, when upper valley elected officials convene in Aspen.

Pitkin County commissioners said Tuesday they were under the impression, after an agreement reached last August, that Snowmass Village would come up with a way to help subsidize the service instead of relying solely on the proceeds of a half-cent sales tax collected in Aspen, Snowmass Village and Pitkin County.

Those tax revenues, dedicated to transit, are controlled by elected officials from all three governments, who will meet as the Elected Officials Transportation Committee on Thursday.

Snowmass Village has not come up with alternate funding sources, and is asking the EOTC to allocate sufficient funds to keep the free service operating throughout the year. The EOTC's 2010 budget includes free bus service to both Snowmass Village and Woody Creek through April 11.

Ridership was up 51.5 percent on the direct service between Aspen and Snowmass last year, when the fare was dropped, Snowmass officials note. That means fewer vehicles were clogging the highway between the two resorts, they concluded.

“I do not see any integrity of decision-making,” said Commissioner Jack Hatfield, a Snowmass Village resident, expressing frustration that the town appears to be reneging on the deal reached last August.

“Everything's open now, for me, if this is the game,” he said, calling on officials to revisit providing free service between Aspen and Basalt. Basalt is in Pitkin County, but passengers must pay a bus fare to travel between the two towns.

“Snowmass is not stepping up,” Hatfield said.

Commissioner Michael Owsley urged a more moderate tone for Thursday's meeting.

“There's also the ability to reflect on the decisions that you've made, which I don't think undermines integrity,” he said.

The half-cent tax is expected to generate $4.1 million this year, of which $2.7 million goes directly to the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority for its valleywide operations. Of the remaining $1.4 million, two-thirds of the revenue was to be devoted to capital projects — namely an eventual transit solution at the Entrance to Aspen, and one-third was pegged as discretionary money during the discussion last August, said Tom Oken, county treasurer.

The free bus service to Snowmass has been funded from those discretionary dollars, as has free service to Woody Creek, but there isn't enough to run the free service year-round — at a cost of close to $600,000. That means dipping into the money being set aside for capital expenditures.

“Let's just piss the money away on operations and never have anything for capital again,” Hatfield said.

Eliminating the free service during the offseasons, when traffic on the highway is lighter, is one option, Oken suggested.

And, he said, the county's use tax generated $330,000 more than was budgeted in 2009, so an unexpected surplus is available. The proceeds also go to transit.

Commissioner Rachel Richards suggested the EOTC could fund the free service this year to give Snowmass officials “the time they need to make the tough decisions.”

The EOTC meets at 4 p.m. in the City Council chambers at Aspen City Hall.

janet@aspentimes.com