Chatham rejects Port Wentworth's transit plans

June 20, 2026 – Chatham County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis recently rejected Port Wentworth’s request to join the Chatham Area Transit service and taxing district, citing the county’s challenge to a state-imposed CAT board shakeup.

In his June 16 letter, to Port Wentworth Mayor Tracy Saunders, Ellis said he supports the city’s desire to join the district but noted they are in litigation with CAT over the state legislation that restructured the authority’s board and reduced the county’s majority control over appointments. Ellis said the commission reached a consensus that they are not able to extend the tax district until the legal dispute is resolved.

The decision blocks what Port Wentworth officials say would provide increased funding for CAT, with the city currently paying the transit agency about $420,000 through a service agreement. Inclusion in the tax district is expected to generate about $1 million a year due to Port Wentworth’s rapid population growth.

The accelerating residential, commercial and industrial development and accompanying traffic congestion spurred the Port Wentworth City Council in June 2025 to approve resolutions seeking to join the CAT district and submit the request to the county. The city’s request comes at a time CAT is facing mounting financial challenges amid the legal dispute with the county and Chatham’s scrutiny of the agency’s services and spending practices. The county reduced CAT’s millage rate last year, declined to allocate any new SPLOST revenue for the agency, and is considering replacing CAT with another provider for the county’s paratransit services — all as CAT loses federal pandemic funding. CAT is now proposing to use reserve funds and implement new revenue generating measures, including selling bus and shelter ads and ferry naming rights, to help close a budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year.

In a statement issued Thursday, Port Wentworth officials said they were “deeply disappointed” by the chairman’s decision, calling it inconsistent with his “One Chatham” initiative and detrimental to regional transit expansion. The city argued that denying the request jeopardizes the long-term future of transit service in Port Wentworth and weakens opportunities to expand service throughout western Chatham County.

Mayor Tracy Saunders said the decision also contradicted discussions held during a May 18 meeting with Ellis, city management and legal teams, during which the city understood that its request would be placed on a future county commission agenda. The city further contends that neither of the lawsuits between Chatham County and CAT prevents the county from expanding the taxing district and noted that a Chatham County Superior Court judge previously ruled that CAT should continue operating under the current board structure while litigation proceeds.

“Port Wentworth has acted in good faith throughout this process and has fulfilled every requirement placed before us,” Saunders said in the statement. “Our residents deserve access to the same opportunities and mobility available elsewhere in Chatham County. We remain committed to achieving that goal.”

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