JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — While buses, streetcars and ferries continue to operate, the future of the RTA Board of Commissioners is unclear. Over the last week, half of the members have resigned.
The board no longer has a quorum and is unable to conduct official business.
The board is in charge of setting policy and overseeing the region's funding and expansion of public transit.
Commissioners Sunni LeBeouf, Joseph Ewell Jr., Timothy Coulon and Brian Bruno resigned. All except LeBeouf represent Jefferson Parish.
According to state law, one representative from JP must be present to have a quorum.
Jefferson Parish President, Cynthia Lee Sheng, appoints Jefferson Parish's representation and Mayor LaToya Cantrell appoints for Orleans Parish.
A spokesperson for JP said Lee Sheng is "exploring all options."
WWL Louisiana reached out to the Mayor's Office on Tuesday but did not hear back.
In the meantime, many are wondering how this impacts RTA projects, decisions and riders.
“The agency continues to move forward on the day-to-day work as the Board Of Commissioners handles board matters. We remain steadfast in improving service reliability and delivering the $400M capital projects awarded to the agency since transitioning to public control," a spokesperson for RTA said
Questions about roughly $1.3M may have caused the resignations in the first place. Our partners at NOLA.com report that in January, the board voted to launch a third-party investigation into RTA's handling of a construction contract.
RTA Board Chairman Mark Raymond Jr. released the following statement Tuesday night:
“Taking seriously the RTA’s Board of Commissioners’ fiduciary and policy oversight roles of the agency, the Board approved the tasking of Transcendent Law Group to complete an investigation into procurement actions taken outside of the agency’s adopted procurement policies. The agency is working with the vendor in question to ensure all appropriate measures are taken to reconcile the issues in a timely manner.
“Further, the Board is taking actions to maintain essential Board functions while addressing the resignations of three Jefferson Parish board members and one Orleans Parish member. In the meantime, the agency remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering reliable transit services and upgrading our critical transit infrastructure, while simultaneously preparing to offer fresh and sustainable perspectives to help build the transit agency New Orleanians deserve and expect.
“Since 2019, the agency was awarded $408 million in competitive federal grant funding, an investment that is projected to yield a $2 billion return for our local economy. Considering the many agency gains over the last few years, it is important now more than ever that we remain unified as one team and one RTA family to deliver on the many game-changing transit infrastructure projects. This includes the Downtown Transit Center, Bus Rapid Transit, our new energy-efficient bus fleet and microgrid, and the desperately needed improvements to ADA accessibility on our streetcar system. Together, these projects improve transit service and reliability as well as leverage public transportation as a tool to help build a diverse and vibrant local economy.”
Read more about the investigation here.
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