MARTA Audit Targets Employee Benefits
An independent audit released today characterizes MARTA’s current economic model as “unsustainable.”
The KPMG audit found Atlanta’s transit agency is spending $50 million above the national average on healthcare, pension, and other worker compensation costs. It also found a high rate of employee absenteeism, costing MARTA about $11 million a year.
Republican State Senator Butch Miller, a member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Oversight Committee (MARTOC), said the audit confirms MARTA has serious management and operations issues.
“I don’t think anyone should be surprised by the results,” said Miller. “We’re going to have to have gross changes in a number of areas and you’ve got to do two things – you ‘ve got to decrease expenses and raise revenue.”
MARTA’s Board of Directors commissioned the audit to provide a blueprint for stabilizing its finances. In recent years, the transit agency has struggled with lower sales tax collections, its primary source of funding. MARTA is facing a $33 million deficit next year.
In a written statement, MARTA board chair Frederick Daniels said the audit represents a critical step in helping preserve the system.
Meanwhile, Lee Biola of Citizens for Progressive Transit believes the initial response to the report has been far too alarmist. He said MARTA commissioned the audit specifically to help locate potential savings.
“What would be cause for concern is if someone else had discovered this and MARTA had ignored the problem – that would be a cause for concern, but that’s not the situation here.”
In addition to targeting employee benefits, the audit found MARTA could save millions by privatizing some aspects of the system, such as cleaning services, payroll, and customer service.
The MARTA board will discuss the audit at its next board meeting.
For more information about MARTA’s finances, including annual reports from MARTA and the MARTOC oversight committee , click here.
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