All members of the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s(MATA) board of commissioners have been replaced following the recommendation of a consulting firm.
Mayor Paul Young announced Friday he was starting a “clean slate” on MATA’s leadership after a draft report from the consulting agency TransPro was released. TransPro said the previous board failed to “provide reasonable oversight.”
The previous board consisted of Michael Fulton, Angus Blair, Sara Burnett, Janice Holder, Anton Mack, Ed Stephens III, Shelia Williams, Martin Lipinski, and Courtney McNeal. It will be replaced with Brandon Arrindale, Cynthia Bailey, Emily Greer, Sandi Klink, Brian Marflak, Jackson McNeil, Anna McQuiston, Dana Pointer, and Maya Siggers.
Young told the council that replacing the board is an “aggressive action” and showed that this is not indicative of one person. His replacements include bus advocates, logistic, financial and legal experts, and more.
“[The MATA Board] has served nobly over the years and this is not an indication of them or their integrity,” Young said. “This is a hard reset.”
TransPro reviewed MATA from August 19 to October 11. During that time the board had passed a budget that not only included service cuts, but prompted the layoff of more than 200 employees. Board members said these cuts were made to ensure the viability of the agency, as officials had announced a $60 million deficit this summer.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, Young said they wanted an external analysis on how they were doing on an operational level, which is why they turned to TransPro.
“[The] existing MATA board fails to provide reasonable oversight,” the report said. “Just a month ago the MATA board unanimously adopted a budget with no questions…for a fiscal year that started more than 100 days prior.”
Councilwoman Jerri Green called the report “nothing short of scathing.”
“It talked specifically about how the board failed over and over again in finances,” Green said.
John Lewis, principal at TransPro, said public transportation’s purpose is to give the community reliable service, and MATA has failed to do so. Lewis said the company has worked with the agency previously, however MATA failed to address their recommendations. As a result, TransPro “severed their agreement.”
“We find ourselves not surprised [by] the situation the agency finds itself in at this moment,” Lewis said.
