Norwich — The board of directors of SEAT could not agree how to divide the share of money contributed by municipalities for the coming fiscal year at a meeting Wednesday, leading some on the board to worry about the future of the regional bus service.

Michael Carroll, general manager of SEAT — the Southeast Area Transit Authority — brought several formulas to the board, which included reducing the cost for towns with lower population density, as well as creating a minimum payment of $7,579 for towns that SEAT considers "connecting service."

However, no action was taken. SEAT board member and Ledyard Mayor Michael Finkelstein noted he received "zero calls" about the end of SEAT service.

It remained unclear whether or not service would continue in Ledyard once the town withdraws from the district.

"It's an open question if there will continue to be service and what it will look like ... I don't think anyone should assume if Ledyard chooses to withdraw that the service currently operating in the district will remain unchanged," Carroll said.

The proposed local formula, a split of service miles and service hours, was developed by Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates.

The formula, applied to the current service route, generally would increase the cost to towns with long stretches of the route.

Ledyard, which has a long stretch of SEAT service along Route 12 but low ridership numbers, opposed the new formula.

Former Ledyard Mayor John Rodolico said the town is a "pass through" for SEAT passangers moving between urban areas.

The board reached a compromise at its Nov. 18 meeting that froze the contributions of towns paying less under the Nelson/Nygaard formula and divided the remaining $17,000 shortfall among the towns that would see an increase.

The mayors of Ledyard and Montville voted against the measure.

"We don't seem to be able to work out an equitable solution without towns and municipalities pulling out," SEAT board member and Norwich Mayor Deberey Hinchey said at the meeting Wednesday. "The purpose of the (Nelson) Nygaard study was to improve the service, not to destroy it."

Carroll said the issue was not so much about the demise of SEAT but the "appropriate governing structure of SEAT going forward."

There was discussion about whether SEAT should continue service in towns that don't pay for it, which include Preston, North Stonington and Mashantucket, though Hinchey said ending service to Foxwoods would hurt people in Norwich who work at the casinos.

Ronald McDaniel, the Montville mayor and SEAT board chairman, said he would be talking to representatives from Preston and Mashantucket in the coming weeks about their towns' involvement with SEAT.

The board also listened to an alternative to fixed route bus service for rural towns like Ledyard presented by Richard Guggenheim, a planner with the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments and John Roode with the Eastern Connecticut Transportation Consortium.

In the proposal, modeled after the Federal New Freedoms program for disabled people within the SEAT service area, towns would establish a voucher system for residents who could use local cab companies to get from one place to another.

Towns would pay 50 percent of the cost, and set age, income or other qualifying limits, as well as establishing a cap for the total subsidy.

There would be a "dollar for dollar" connection between the town's subsidy and the residents being served in town, Guggenheim said.

"It seemed like a logical way to bring that together," he said.

Ledyard's Town Council voted on Dec. 9 to end the town's subsidy to SEAT, withdrawing from the district effective July of this year.

Mayor Finkelstein has indicated he's willing to continue discussions with the rest of SEAT's board of directors but that the decision ultimately rests with the Town Council.

n.lynch@theday.com

Twitter: @_nathanlynch