Ledyard — The Board of Finance voted Wednesday to end the town’s subsidy to the South East Area Transit bus service, or SEAT, effective June 30 of next year.

The move comes as SEAT explores improvement plans that would end service along Colonel Ledyard Highway and drafted a change in the local funding formula that would increase the town’s subsidy from $9,717 to around $22,000.

The subsidy will be taken up at the next town council meeting.

SEAT completed an evaluation of public transit in southeastern Connecticut in December of 2014 and finished a technical review of its service in February of 2015, overseen by the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.

Based on these evaluations, SEAT developed three options to alter and expand the service that would provide more direct routes, particularly between New London and Norwich, and faster service, according to the proposal.

Each leave only one scheduled service through Ledyard along Route 12.

Alongside the service change, SEAT is also proposing to change the local subsidy system, which is based on revenue bus hours and SEAT says is outdated as routes have changed and special revenues have been eliminated.

The new system would be an equal split between bus hours and miles, which they say would reflect actual levels of bus service in the community.

However Mayor John Rodolico, who serves on SEAT’s Board of Directors alongside nine other town representatives, said that he doesn’t believe the subsidy reflects the service that the town of Ledyard receives.

"Ledyard in particular is one of those towns that receives very little in the way of service. Its really a pass-through town in going from Groton to Norwich,” Rodolico said.

Data from SEAT automatic passenger counters indicated that 723 people boarded and 839 people disembarked SEAT buses within the town of Ledyard in 2015, making up around 1.5 percent of the bus service's passengers.

Rodolico also pointed to a 2012 resolution adopted by the town of Ledyard and other towns in the district calling on the Department of Transportation to assume responsibility for the transit service, which he says is the only viable solution for the bus service.

If the council votes to withdraw, Ledyard will still be responsible for the subsidy for the last year of service.

It also remains unclear whether SEAT buses would continue to stop in Ledyard after the town withdraws from SEAT.

"We do know they have a scheduled stop in the commuter stop in North Stonington, but they have mentioned in meetings they would have to establish a policy,” for non-member towns, Rodolico said.

Councilor Fred Allyn III said the cost of the subsidy simply didn’t match the value the town got from the service.

“When you see $9,000 is more than the benefit we’re deriving, and then you see they want to double and then some our $9,000 fee, that’s a problem,” Allyn said.

n.lynch@theday.com

Twitter: @_nathanlynch