PA: CamTran chief gets pay raise, bonus

The Cambria County Transit Authority’s executive director is receiving a nearly 14% raise for the coming year and a more than $15,000 bonus.

CamTran’s board approved a new one-year contract for Executive Director Rose Lucey-Noll that keeps her at the helm of the organization until summer 2026. The agreement lifts Lucey-Noll’s salary to $150,000, up from $132,000 this year.

The separate $15,988 bonus is tied to past performance over her expiring five-year contract, Lucey-Noll said. It essentially serves as a more than $3,150 bonus for each of those five years – a period in which Lucey-Noll said she did not receive a bonus.

“I feel honored” to be able to continue as CamTran’s director, Lucey-Noll said. “To be able to get the unanimous support of CamTran’s board of directors ... is always a good thing.”

Lucey-Noll has been CamTran’s director for nearly 20 years, overseeing a nearly $19 million operation that provides various forms of transportation, including public bus service, to people across Cambria County.

She also oversees a 130-employee workforce.

Nonprofit administrators across the nation – and the region – have seen their pay rise sharply in recent years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lucey-Noll’s 2025-26 salary increase appears to bring her annual pay in line with that of superintendents at many of the region’s mid-sized to larger school districts – as well as newly hired Johnstown Redevelopment Authority Director Mark Critz, who will earn $149,000 this year.

Lucey-Noll has guided the authority through several major projects in recent years. That includes efforts to revamp the bus fleet to more efficient models, a nearly $2 million rural operations center renovation, and upgrades such as a solar panel system at CamTran’s Woodvale headquarters to cut annual energy costs.

Among the largest projects is the ongoing, more than $17 million Johnstown Inclined Plane rehabilitation. Work has been underway since 2021 to refurbish the historic hillside railway.

But COVID-19-related supply chain problems and, more recently, difficulties replacing large metal pulley wheels, called sheaves, pushed the project past its projected 2023 completion date.

An initial set of wheels was rejected as unusable in 2022. Replacements were fabricated and installed, but the project came to a halt in late 2023 after an inspection showed those wheels weren’t operating as designed either.

CamTran officials turned to the state and outside consultants for an outside review. The sheaves were repaired and inspected, and work has resumed to get the project completed. But the project’s pace has sparked community frustration and criticism, including on social media.

CamTran Board President Joe Slifko said Lucey-Noll wants the Inclined Plane reopened as much as anyone – but it’s a matter of safety.

“The (delays) have been outside issues, not (CamTran’s),” Slifko said.

He said Lucey-Noll is in constant contact with project contractors to keep driving the Inclined Plane rehabilitation forward.

The project is only one part of her role as director, he said, adding that she’s also responsible for ensuring public transportation moves seamlessly through the county year-round.

“Rose has a very difficult, complex job,” Slifko said, “and she has proven her ability to effectively lead her team.”

And whether it’s the operation of the Inclined Plane or CamTran’s fleet of buses, public safety is her top concern, he added.

Lucey-Noll said the Incline project is on track to be completed this fall, with a goal of having permits and trained employees in place to reopen by the end of the year. Renovations to the Inclined Plane’s observation deck have already been completed.

Lucey-Noll said she has also worked to find grant funding to offset costly CamTran projects. That has included millions of dollars in outside support in recent years.

That includes the Inclined Plane project, which, despite adding more than $1.6 million in new change orders over the past year to address issues, did not result in any additional local-level expenses, she said.

The switch to more efficient compressed natural gas buses and other technology upgrades have been completed through state and federal grant support, Lucey-Noll said.

According to Lucey-Noll’s 2025-26 contract, all medical coverage costs will be absorbed by CamTran. Lucey-Noll said her pre-existing contract included a series of built-in one-year options – and this was the first beyond her initial five-year deal.

She said she was encouraged by the unanimous 9-0 vote, but stressed that CamTran’s recent accomplishments aren’t hers alone.

“It’s not just me at CamTran. We’re a team,” she said. “And we all play our part.”

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