Bus Riders Union of Austin, Texas | El Sindicato de Pasajeros

GETTING THERE: BEN WEAR
Will Gilliam, Red Line take off at same time?
Talk swirls about the future of Capital Metro chief as agency deals with a balky rail startup and money problems.
Monday, May 11, 2009
link to story: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/11/0511wear....

The behind-the-scenes chatter, at that time not for the record, first reached my ears about three months ago: Fred Gilliam could be out as Capital Metro's president and CEO as soon as he cuts the ribbon on the agency's commuter rail line.

The volume has turned up in the past few weeks and made it into news reports, even as the date for that ribbon-cutting has been delayed indefinitely.

Capital Metro board member and Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez has gone public with his concerns about the job done by Gilliam, who has been at the agency since October 2001 and in charge since April 2002. Board member Brewster McCracken, also on the council (and now in a runoff for mayor) demurred when asked if Gilliam should go, but allowed that Gilliam, at 66, was near retirement.

When I asked Gilliam about it a couple of weeks ago, he gave me a version of the reply I've since read and heard him give others: "The day it's not fun is the day I leave," he said.

The past few months could hardly have been fun for Gilliam, or anyone else associated with Capital Metro.

Agency bus drivers and mechanics walked off the job for three days in early November, helping fuel (along with falling gas prices) a ridership decline that has continued. Sales tax revenue, which provides almost three-quarters of the agency's money, began to decline in October and fell off 15 percent in February.

Then came a double whammy in March.

The Statesman published a front-page story revealing that the agency's reserves had gone from a whole lot to almost nothing in recent years, with more than $100 million still owed to the City of Austin and a railcar manufacturer. Agency officials, while acknowledging a faster-than-expected drain of reserves, said the money had been spent on worthy transit projects (like the rail line, a $40 million maintenance center and several expansive park-and-ride lots) and that they'd known for several years that reserves were headed to near nothing, though agency staff had not made this clear to the public or board members.

That was followed quickly by the agency first announcing a month's delay in the rail opening and then the indefinite delay. The big scissors and ribbon have been mothballed for the time being.

All of this comes as the Legislature mulls a bill by state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, to revamp the agency board and make other changes to shape up the place. Hardly a vote of confidence in current management.

If Gilliam (who made $292,658 in 2008, the agency says) does decide he's no longer having fun, or if the board decides for him, he will receive a generous retirement package.

As of today, Gilliam has about 7.6 years of actual service with Capital Metro. But thanks to some provisions inserted in his contract extensions in 2005 and 2006 — at a cost of $88,000, most of which Capital Metro says otherwise would have gone directly to Gilliam as performance and longevity bonuses — his time of service for retirement is 25.7 years. That means that Gilliam, and his wife, if she survives him, would get a $92,750-a-year pension.

It's not clear that a majority of the seven-member board wants Gilliam gone. Chairwoman Margaret Gómez, in her public comments, has been supportive. Board members John Cowman and Mike Manor, when I asked them about this, pretty much danced around the question.

For at least the next several months, the decision will rest with the current board, save for McCracken, probably, who either will be off the council if he loses the mayor's race, or too busy for this side job if he wins.

Watson's bill, even if it passes, wouldn't change the board until this fall.

So we'll see how long the fun continues, for Gilliam and everyone else involved with Capital Metro.

Getting There appears Mondays. For questions, tips or story ideas, contact Getting There at 445-3698 or bwear@statesman.com.