Mar. 28—Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng on Wednesday appointed three members of her administration to the Regional Transit Authority's board of commissioners — though she doesn't expect them to serve for long.
With the public transit agency in turmoil over a growing contract scandal, Lee Sheng is waiting on the state Legislature to approve a change in the law that would allow Jefferson Parish to remove itself from the RTA governance structure altogether.
Half of the RTA's eight-member board, including all three appointees from Jefferson Parish, resigned in late February and early March after a report by an outside law firm suggested that the RTA's leadership hadn't been transparent with board members over a botched construction contract.
Without an appointee from Jefferson Parish present, the board can't hold meetings or conduct official business, like approving contracts.
"Obviously, we don't want the RTA to miss any meetings," Lee Sheng said Wednesday. "We know our seats are critical for them to have a quorum."
But, Lee Sheng said, she also "didn't want to ask somebody from the outside" to take on the responsibility of serving on the embattled board.
So, Lee Sheng instead appointed Parish Attorney Toni Hurley, Deputy Parish Attorney Brad Richard and Assistant Parish Attorney Colin Cisco.
The wave of resignations followed a board meeting on Feb. 27, where members met behind closed doors to discuss a third-party investigation they had commissioned into the RTA's contact with the Metairie-based BRC Construction Group.
The report, conducted by Transcendent Law Group, determined that a since-fired RTA executive, John DiLosa, had improperly authorized roughly $1 million in no-bid work to BRC.
The report also raised questions about whether the authority's CEO, Lona Edwards Hankins, treated DiLosa's alleged transgressions with the seriousness they warranted, and whether she was forthright with the RTA board about the problems once they were discovered.
Tim Coulon, a former Jefferson Parish president, submitted his letter of resignation from the RTA board on Feb. 27. He was followed on Feb. 28 by Brian Bruno — a Jefferson Parish appointee who had been seated just a day earlier — and Joseph Ewell Jr., the parish's other appointee, who resigned Feb. 29.
Sunni LeBeouf, a former city attorney and assistant U.S. attorney and one of five RTA board members appointed by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, resigned on March 1.
After the exodus, Lee Sheng told RTA board chairman Mark Raymond Jr. that she planned to remove Jefferson Parish as a member of the agency, as soon as the state Legislature created a mechanism to do so.
House Bill 760, authored by state Rep. Joe Stagni, R- Kenner, would allow Jefferson Parish to withdraw from the RTA via a Parish Council resolution.
The RTA provides bus service in Kenner and also has bus lines running from New Orleans to Elmwood and Louis Armstrong International Airport. Lee Sheng said she'd want to continue to work with the RTA through cooperative endeavor agreements.
Still, there are efforts to persuade Jefferson Parish to remain a full-fledged member.
State Rep. Delisha Boyd, D- New Orleans, has proposed more sweeping changes to the RTA's governing structure through House Bill 544. Her goal, she said, is to improve transparency and accountability at the RTA.
The bill would require the RTA board to include at least one member from the authority's non-management labor force; give the New Orleans City Council the power to recall board members; and demand that board members possess "minimum transit expertise."
Boyd also plans to amend the legislation to provide protections for whistleblowers.
Boyd said she doesn't "believe it's in the best interest of the community (for Jefferson Parish) to pull out altogether," and is exploring avenues to keep the parish engaged. She said that could include giving Jefferson Parish board members an equal vote. At the moment, their vote is weighted based on the number of operating miles in the parish.
Boyd said she's working with state Sen. Pat Connick, R- Marrero, on potential reforms. Connick didn't respond to a request for comment, but in a legislative hearing earlier this month, he said he thinks "the RTA needs to be destroyed and rebuilt, where everybody has a voice."
___
(c)2024 The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
Visit The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate at www.nola.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
