Face the State

Face the State Staff Report

According to records obtained by Face the State, the RTD board of directors spent more than $54,000 on travel in 2008, including a trip to China, nights in a beachfront hotel and a dinner cruise. Records also indicate that members avoided RTD buses and light rail, opting instead to charge taxpayers for taxi rides and airport parking. Some of the spending may be in conflict with the board's own policies.

Amidst the recent economic downturn, RTD officials have recently implemented a salary freeze for most RTD employees, excepting General Manager Cal Marsella from the change in compensation. RTD is governed by a 15-member board of directors elected by citizens of the eight counties within the transit authority's jurisdiction. Each board member receives a $12,000 annual salary established by the state legislature. In 2008, each board member was also allocated $10,000 for local and out of state travel.

Juanita Chacon, who represents Commerce City, Westminster, and Edgewater, used $1,627.20 of her travel allowance for a "China trip", the details of which are not provided with her expense report (PDF). Documents provided by RTD reveal little about the trip, but Chacon did charge the district for airfare, lodging and meals. Chacon did not return calls for comment.

Fox 31 report on RTD travel expenses [Streaming Video]

Noel Busck, a board member representing parts of Commerce City, Brighton, Thornton and Northglenn, attended the annual American Public Transit Association conference in San Diego last October and stayed at the beachfront Marriot Marina hotel for $328.73 a night (PDF). Barbara Brohl, who represents Denver, Edgewater and Wheat Ridge, attended the same conference and stayed at a less expensive hotel, but enjoyed a $68.50 (PDF) "dinner cruise."

"Last year the RTD board received an award as the number one transit company in the United States," Busck told Face the State. "We attended that conference to accept that award on behalf of the people we represent."

Busck also pointed out that the 2009 travel budget has been reduced for board members. Out-of-state travel was reduced by $2,000 per board member to $4,000 per year (PDF) and in-state travel allowances saw a reduction from $4,000 to $3,000 (PDF). The total 2008 budget for each RTD director's travel was $10,000. It has now been changed to $7,000.

RTD policy (PDF) states that members should only be reimbursed for expenses related to official business, including conferences and visits with federal regulators. However, numerous reimbursement requests reviewed by FTS reveal the district's policy is only loosely enforced. While district policy requires itemized receipts for all expenses, Barbara Yamrick's expense report includes nearly 25 line items described only as "breakfasts", "snacks" or "lunches", all listed with identical amounts - $9.99 - and no receipts provided in most cases (PDF). Additionally, chairman Lee Kemp was reimbursed for a $70.10 dinner for which he submitted no supporting itemized receipt (PDF).

Board members also submitted reimbursement requests for desserts and upscale dinners. Neill Quinlan, Arapahoe County's former representative who no longer serves on the board, spent $15.99 on ice cream at Albertson's while attending the APTA conference (PDF) and days later enjoyed a $52.09 dinner at Roy's, a Hawaiian "fine dining" restaurant.

Policy also requires that board members seek permission from Kemp to make use of the travel funds. One such request made by Busck suggests that the the approval process is extremely lax.

In his request to attend the San Diego conference, Busck refers to Kemp as the "Grand Poo Pa," (PDF) writing: "I am formally requesting your permission to drive to Seattle this July to attend an APTA conference...Please grant me this permission and I will follow all the rules as prescribed in our bylaws. Please, Sir, grant this and I will be in your servitude for years. I await your kingly response. Your lowly servant and humble RTD director, Noel Busck."

Kemp granted Busck permission to attend the conference and warned him of "many foes to reckon with" and "not to be influenced by those who may tempt you to the dark side of transit. Be strong oh Knight of the kingdom and come back safely with pearls of wisdom."

The documents also reveal that board members showed a preference for private transportation to DIA over the district's SkyRide bus service. Besides salary and travel perks, all RTD employees are given two free annual transit passes, one for themselves and one for a spouse or dependent. Instead of using their passes and the public transportation network provided by RTD, board members claimed $898.94 of reimbursement for their gas and mileage to drive to and from DIA and park at the airport for days at a time.

Board members also racked up a total of $2,155.55 in private transportation expenses (spreadsheet) while at conferences. These charges included taxis, private shuttles and rental cars. Taxi rides cost taxpayers $1,088.36. Directors spent an additional $559.05 on private shuttles between airports and hotels.

"RTD encourages the use of public transportation whenever possible," said RTD spokesmen Scott Reid. "Situations can arise with out of town conferences or meetings during which it is not possible or feasible to use public transportation given tight schedules, multiple destinations in a short period of time, tours of off site projects or other factors."

Board members spent $116.67 on Starbucks coffee while traveling and also expensed a variety of snacks, bottled water, and soda.

Every board member took at least one trip in 2008 on taxpayer dollars, with some taking as many as three or four. Bruce Daly, who represents Evergreen, and William McMullen of south Denver, each took four trips and both exceeded their travel budgets. Both were responsible for reimbursing RTD for the amounts by which they exceeded their budgets.

Face the State's open records request included all travel documents from January 1, 2008 through January 1, 2009, meaning some current board members who are newly elected as of 2008 have no travel expenses listed. Travel records for RTD general manager Cal Marsella are maintained separately.