by Robert Snell, and Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News is reporting that Regional Transit Authority CEO Michael Ford repaid $18,813 Thursday, hours after a closed-door meeting with board members amid an investigation into his expenses and job security.
The money repaid a portion of mileage, cell phone, health care and insurance payments called into question that he has received since being hired in late 2014.
“The check basically addresses some contract issues and there are other contract issues that are still under review,” RTA spokesman Mario Morrow said.
The payment also came hours after an exclusive report in The Detroit News that detailed the ongoing investigation and Ford’s travel expenses. The expenses — including luxury hotel rooms at a cost of up to $560 a night — raised questions about the authority’s spending and financial controls at a time when the RTA is mulling whether to ask voters for billions of dollars in tax revenue to support regional transit.
This is not Michael Ford’s first brush with pointed questions about his expenses. In 2015, the Ann Arbor Independent editorialized that:
THE BOARD MEMBERS appointed by former mayor John Hieftje to oversee the AATA (and then AAATA) were, ostensibly, blind-sided by an article published in The Ann Arbor News on Mar. 20. That paper reported that between 2010-2015 AATA/AAATA “employees overall collectively billed the agency for more than $283,000 worth of travel, conference, meeting and meal expenses.” Of that total, the lion’s share of money for meals, travel and expenses went to former CEO Michael Ford—some $115,000.
That the extent of Ford’s largesse with public money was exposed after voters went to the polls to approve a multi-million dollar millage enhancement for AAATA is unfortunate. However, it should come as no surprise. After the millage was approved, the political appointees on the AAATA Board voted Michael Ford a retroactive raise in pay. It was an irresponsible decision, considering Michael Ford was planning to leave Ann Arbor to lead Michigan’s Regional Transit Authority. Why he landed a retroactive raise in pay on his way out the door speaks volumes about the need for City Council to exercise more stringent oversight of the AAATA Board appointments and those political appointees.
The Detroit News reports that the payment Thursday did not satisfy one critic, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
“The public is going to find this completely unacceptable,” Hackel said. “Here you’re supposed to be managing a regional transit system, and you can’t even get the financial affairs in order with the contract you have.
“Had it not been called into question, would this ever have been reimbursed? This has created a tremendous loss of the trust with the public and the RTA. There’s no way they will be able to retain his services as CEO.”
Internal checks and balances of Ford’s expenses were not robust, Ford said in a statement issued by Morrow.
Ford, 55, charged the authority about $37,000 for airfare, hotels, out-of-town meals, parking and mileage over 21/2 years, according to expense reports obtained by The Detroit News through the Freedom of Information Act.
During the closed-door meeting early Thursday, RTA board members were expected to discuss results of an investigation into Ford’s expenses and whether they would renew his $200,000 annual contract, which expires in October.
The meeting lasted for almost three hours before it was announced there would be no decision. Members will meet Wednesday and continue discussing the investigation and Ford’s future with the authority.
The RTA’s internal investigation is focused on Ford’s expenses, including why the RTA reimbursed him directly for cellphone expenses instead of requiring the CEO to submit reimbursement requests as required by the group’s procedures.
Ford reimbursed almost $5,300 for cell phone overpayments.
Another area of focus is mileage reimbursement. Ford receives a $10,000 car allowance but also has billed the RTA for $9,305 in mileage since November 2014. The review is looking at whether Ford received as much as double the amount permitted under his contract.
He repaid approximately $3,500 for mileage Thursday.
The balance of the $18,813 payment covered insurance and health care benefits that Ford should not have received.
Thursday’s meeting came two weeks after RTA’s board postponed giving Ford, a $16,300 raise.
The total amount of Ford’s travel expenses did not exceed the RTA’s budget, officials said, but details of the expenses and dates have apparently raised eyebrows.
The expenses, and an ongoing review by RTA Chairman Paul Hillegonds, have prompted questions about the authority’s spending and financial controls.
Read the rest of the Detroit News piece here.
Don’t bother putting RTA on the 2018 ballot. It will Never pass now.
Why would the RTA board even consider renewing this crook’s contract. He has lost all credability. In typical Detroit fashion, just like Robert Davis of Highland Park, why not take advantage of your position and stay in $550 hotel rooms and nickel and dime the RTA for everything you can. This is fraud.
This guy should be fired no questions asked!
Yep. I’m still trying to figure out why I’m supposed to shell out all this money for a bus line in Detroit (had it passed).
So, had there not been a closed door session, would Mr. Ford still have written a check for 19,000.00? Seems like he needs to look up the definition of the word “integrity”.
This is why I vote “NO” to any millages, etc no matter what sob story supporters push on voters. For example “it’s for the children!”, “we won’t have any parks or libraries if you don’t pay more money!”, “other big cities have trains and we have to drive cars everywhere!” and so on. History has shown time and time again that politicians & bureaucrats cannot be trusted as good stewards of taxpayer funds. Taxpayer money is consistently and constantly squandered and used for purposes other than that described in the text you read on your ballot. Don’t believe the hype, don’t believe the emotional sob stories around the next millage. Take a stand and demand that all politicians and bureaucrats use taxpayer money effectively, audit everyone all the time and prosecute, prosecute, prosecute!
I would like to say that listening to Michael Ford talk about REGIONAL transportation was as exciting as watching ‘grass grow’ …but that would be a lie. Watching ‘grass grow’ is WAY more exciting than listening to Michael Ford. When it comes to transportation …Washtenaw County’s gain (losing Michael Ford) was the RTA REGION’s loss (getting him).
It’s not like this is a new story with Ford. He did the same thing at the AATA in Ann Arbor. He’s a spendthrift who has no respect for the source of the revenues he squanders–that source being the taxpayer. Many here say the next RTA vote will be DOA. No, it won’t. Because by next year when they put it back on the ballot, this story will be so far from the collective memories and the puppets of taxation: Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, MLive, and all the rest of them will line up behind the tax telling us how the region needs to back an unelected “authority” and the voters will be swayed eventually because these clowns won’t stop until they get funded. Then billions will be squandered and Ford will look like a petty thief compared to the big time operators who will flock to the RTA.
Ford can’t possibly survive this problem. Let them exercise some due process and then fire him and sue him for any other questionable expenses.
If he is not fired in 30 to 60 days, they will never get another millage request much less a tax.
By paying back $19,000 , isn’t that admitting to wrong doing. What is he saying, I’m not smart enough to even read my own contract. Please trust me with large amounts of your money.
…. and the people on the West side of the state continue to laugh at Detroit. Money + Power = Corruption
This has NOTHING to do with a reflection on ‘Detroit’. This is a REGIONAL transit authority …or is suppose to be. In fact, Detroit’s FIRST RTA Board Member Lisa Frankln, appointed by Mayor Dave Bing, was the ONLY board member with the brain, and COURAGE, to vote for former SEMTA GM Larry Salci for RTA CEO in the first go around. The two Washtenaw (Ann Arbor) County board members wanted to vote for Larry Salci over the useless politician, and SMART (not to be confused with ‘smart’) GM, John Hertel, but their arms were twisted by the RTA Board Chair, and former useless politician, Paul Hillegonds.
When John declined …that’s how we ended up with useless Mike from AA. …not Detroit.
Detroit RTA Board Member Lisa Franklin was also the ONLY RTA Board Member wanting to have a discussion about the 163 acre MI STATE FAIRGROUNDS being the perfect site for an ICONIC, REGIONAL, Multi-modal Transit Hub and a REVENUE GENERATING property for the RTA. But two people from the WEST SIDE of the State, RTA Chair Paul Hillegonds on orders from Governor Snyder, QUASHED the thought of any discussion …because SNYDER’s Office was executing a KWAME-style ‘deal’ to ‘give-away’ the MI STATE FAIRGROUNDS to some well-connected friends of Snyder’s Chief of Staff. Now you know …the rest of the story.
Hackel is correct as correct can be. Despite a healthy skepticism of tax hikes, I voted for the RTA millage; there were good ideas in the plans that were worth pursuing. Obviously they have no clue how to manage finances, or no interest in it, or both, which I’m smacking myself for not assuming, since it is, after all, a public entity.
I’m never again voting for an RTA millage until they show concrete proof they actually care about taxpayer money. Learn how to find a Motel 6. There is no way a public servant, CEO or not, should be ritzing it up at the fanciest hotels on taxpayer dimes.