State audit finds TriMet needs to take 'extremely urgent' money, safety problems more seriously

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Investigative stories by The Oregonian about sleepy drivers and secret pay raises helped push the Oregon Legislature to pass a bill, seeking a top-to-bottom audit of the agency by the Secretary of State's office. The transit agency's reputation for sweeping problems under the carpet also contributed to the action, according to a bill sponsor. (Jamie Francis/The Oregonian/2013)

TriMet needs to fix a culture where low morale, secrecy, safety problems and more than $1 billion in unfunded financial obligations threaten to wreck the public transit agency, a new state audit has found.

by the Oregon secretary of state's office obtained by The Oregonian portrays an agency that has publicly declared "safety first" but occasionally betrays that mantra behind the scenes.

Too often, drivers and other front-line workers feel as if their concerns about safety issues aren't taken seriously, the report shows. Auditors also found that, despite The Oregonian's 2013 investigation into the growing risks of bus and train operator fatigue, TriMet's solutions fall short.

Meanwhile, TriMet's maintenance of the MAX light-rail system's tracks, signals, substations and other equipment has declined significantly in the past decade, auditors found.

The percentage of preventative track maintenance completed on time has seen the most dramatic drop – from 92 percent in 2004 to just 53 percent in 2013.

The budget-battered agency -- which operates 79 bus lines with 6,800 stops and four MAX lines covering 52 miles -- told auditors it had fallen behind schedule because of six open maintenance positions that it didn't have the funding to fill.

"They have extremely urgent financial issues that they need to address," said Secretary of State Kate Brown. "But there are also huge safety concerns that threaten to impact their ability provide service to the public."

The bottom line of the audit: "TriMet seems to make a reasonable effort to manage" its fleet, but public satisfaction with the agency's performance is sinking.

TriMet officials took the secretary of state's criticisms in stride, saying they are already in the process of reviewing and addressing issues raised.

In a 10-page response, TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane didn't disagree with the findings.

Rather, he seemed to ask how high he should jump to implement the audit's suggested improvements. From setting up a hotline for TriMet's 2,554 workers to report corruption to doing more to fight driver fatigue, "we agree with all of them," McFarlane said. "Our first focus will be on those items that further the delivery of safe and dependable service."

In 2013, prompted in large part by The Oregonian's investigations into sleepy drivers working up to 22 hours a day and managers receiving secret pay raises, Oregon lawmakers called on Brown to conduct an unprecedented top-to-bottom audit of TriMet's operations, finances, governance and transparency.

Under the audit bill overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature, Brown's team of auditors were given only six months to complete their examination of TriMet.

"This is more of a full-body scan, since we didn't have the ability to go in-depth," Brown said. "My team could have spent at least six months on safety issues alone."

That said, Brown is most troubled by the poisonous relationship between TriMet management and Amalgamated Transit Union 757, which represents drivers, mechanics and support staff.

The ongoing conflict, she said, affects every issue cited. Years of labor conflicts, often public, have created distrust of management among the transit agency's frontline employees, auditors found. Outside of contract talks, there is "little formal communication" between the two sides, the report said.

Among other recommendations, Brown urged management to look at ways to meet more frequently with union leaders to address operational and financial challenges together.

The union and TriMet management are once again engaged in a tense and drawn-out contract negotiations,

.

Over the past decade, the cost of medical benefits have skyrocketed 65 percent. What's more, the agency has $852 million in unfunded liability to pay health benefits for current and future retirees, the audit found. TriMet also needs to find a way to pay a $274 million pension liabilities.

To Brown's surprise, TriMet's financial strategy doesn't include a specific game plan to pay for those obligations. That needs to change, according to the audit report.

Bruce Hansen,

, likes the idea of regular, more-casual meetings with management, but he's not hopeful anything will come of it – despite McFarlane's written promise to make the effort. "I'm ready," Hansen said, "but I'm not convinced that management is open to change."

Based on McFarlane's lengthy response to the audit, Brown disagrees. The secretary of state says TriMet is trying make a lot of things right. She gave a nod to TriMet's recent effort to set up

in response to criticisms about its transparency and compliance with public records laws.

"This agency appears committed to change," she said. "Is it a huge challenge for them? Yes. But are they capable of making progress? Yes."

The audit's other findings and recommendations include:

  • Bus collisions, overtime pay and reports of drivers nodding off behind the wheel all are on the decline
  • Finding ways to improve communications and respond to workers who raise safety concerns.
  • Implementing a hotline to allow employees to make reports of fraud, waste or abuse of TriMet resources.
  • Learning from what other transit agencies, namely New York's MTA, do to better communicate and engage with employees.
  • Improving how it plans bus routes and executes service changes.
  • Re-evaluating the process for scheduling work shifts to ensure more time for operator meals and bathroom breaks.
  • Exploring ways to become more transparent with the public and employees.
  • More buses are running late,
  • Although payroll and self-employment taxes dipped $12 million during the recession,
  • Last year, McFarlane came under fire for quietly dipping into a rainy day fund to hand out raises to managers and other non-union employees. He defended the move by saying they had gone too long without a pay increase.

-- Joseph Rose

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