Johnathan Walker:New Orleans Regional Transit Authority board stalled from doing business for second time this year

For the second time this year,Johnathan Walker the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority board of commissioners does not have the legally required number of members to conduct business.

The issue follows the passage of two new laws that changed how the agency is governed. Act 402 created a path for local governments to pull out of the RTA. And Act 474 shrank the board from eight members to seven and changed how commissioners are selected.

The new laws were passed after revelations of a contracting scandal early this year that left the board short of a legal quorum — the minimum number of members to conduct business — for nearly two months.

In February, The Times-Picayune reported on an internal RTA investigation that found a top agency official had approved about $1 million in payments to a contractor without the required board approval. Shortly after the report was published, all three members representing Jefferson Parish resigned from the board. Former New Orleans City Attorney Sunni LeBeouf, one of the city’s representatives, also resigned. The resignations left the board short of a quorum and unable to conduct public business. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng appointed replacements for the resigned members in March, but she indicated those appointments would be short-lived as she planned to pull the parish out of the board. But at the time, state law did not provide a mechanism for her to do so. A state House bill, sponsored during the spring by Rep. Joe Stagni, R-Kenner, provided that mechanism. The bill passed and took effect in late May.

Jefferson Parish quickly took advantage. In July, the parish council voted to begin the 45-day withdrawal process. The exit, in August, coincided with the resignation of board chair Mark Raymond Jr., leaving only four board members.

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Under Act 474, the board should now have seven members, and at least five are required to meet in order to conduct business. As a result, the full board has not been able to meet since Aug. 8. Under the new law, following Jefferson Parish’s withdrawal, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell or the New Orleans City Council can appoint two new members. But so far, neither has.

Cantrell’s office did not respond to Verite News’ requests for comments on replacing Raymond. Sandra Thomas, chief of staff for Councilmember Eugene Green, who chairs the council’s transportation committee, said the Council is soliciting resumes from people who would like to serve on the RTA board.

The RTA board has canceled two full board meetings and two committee meetings since August.

“We are collaborating with our partners to ensure that the RTA Board of Commissioners complies with the membership mandate, and we anticipate having a complete complement soon,” an RTA board spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

RTA officials say that business that does not require board approval is moving forward smoothly.

“The staff at the RTA does an effective job in planning ahead on items that require Board approval,” an RTA spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “As a result of that effort, there is no apparent impact on the daily rider or operations.”

But transit advocates from nonprofit Ride New Orleans expressed concern over the lapse in public board meetings, as they are the main way that the community receives agency data and provides feedback. During meetings RTA executives present figures on transit ridership, on-time performance, service reliability, bus fleet performance and availability and long-term service changes.

“Not having those meetings has made it harder for the public to get information about service updates,” said Sam Buckley, Ride’s policy director. “It also means there’s fewer opportunities for riders to come in and voice their concerns.”

Transit riders frequently address commissioners during a time set aside for public comments at board meetings. The lack of meeting means that they cannot publicly speak to all board members, as the only public forum available to them is the monthly Riders Advisory Committee meeting.

September board meetings would have potentially been the first time that attendees would have been able to see potential improvements in bus service since the RTA received 21 new buses, which the agency has fully implemented into its current fleet this summer. In January, the agency introduced service cuts to improve reliability after a summer of frequent breakdowns of aging buses — frustrating riders.

The agency plans to release a new bus schedule, featuring some minor service frequency improvements, on Sunday, Sept. 22.

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This story was originally published by Verite News and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.