The board that oversees the embattled New Orleans Public Belt Railroad voted Wednesday (Aug. 18) to revoke employee credit cards, rein in take-home car use and halt free access to a pair of lavish vintage train cars, but commissioners adjourned without taking disciplinary action against their general manager, whose free-wheeling spending has drawn recent attention to the obscure government agency, The Times-Picayune reports.
Commissioners met behind closed doors for four hours to discuss allegations of misconduct at the Public Belt and to consider disciplinary action against Jim Bridger, whose heavy use of his public credit card, along with other matters, have drawn scrutiny from the state legislative auditor, the city's inspector general, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration and the nonprofit Metropolitan Crime Commission.
But when they reconvened in open session, no one seized on President Pro Tempore James Baldwin's request for action related to what he described as the private discussion of Bridger's "character and competency."
Walter Becker, an attorney hired by the 17-member board, would not comment on the closed-door meeting, or say what punitive actions the board may be empowered to take. At the board's discretion, Bridger opted for debate about his performance to be held in private and to have his lawyer, Metairie attorney Donald Hyatt, in the room.
In assessing the other board action, Becker described the policy changes -- all of them adopted unanimously by the 14 commissioners present Wednesday -- as "dramatic" and "far-reaching." According to Bridger, all employees already have given up their agency credit cards, and 12 of the 17 workers who have had take-home cars have turned them in. The take-home car policy will be "fully" implemented by Sept. 1, he said.
Key among the new rules are: immediate revocation of all credit cards; prior review by Baldwin or the board's finance committee of reimbursable expenses; and adoption of the take-home car policy Landrieu recently instituted at City Hall, which allows only essential employees who live within 40 miles of work to drive a public vehicle to and from home.
In addition, top managers were instructed to file reports within 30 days explaining the expenses they've charged to the Public Belt over the past three years. Those employees who have had take-home cars also must report the occasions on which they've been called into work after hours, as well as their fuel usage.
The board also voted to hire a general counsel, a step that Edward Merritt, an attorney and commissioner who drafted the measures adopted Wednesday, said could have helped the board avoid the recent media glare.
"I think a lot of the problems we see here, if we had had a general counsel, we wouldn't have done them," he said.
Before a standing room-only crowd, the commissioners avoided references to recent revelations that Bridger, who earns $350,000 a year, spent more than $108,000 between 2007 and 2009 on his agency credit card and invested $2 million in public money to sumptuously outfit a pair of vintage train cars used to host VIPs and charity events.
Landrieu, who as mayor is president of the railroad board, did not attend Wednesday's session, in line with his promise not to attend any Public Belt meetings until he reviews the pending audit.
Landrieu said before the meeting this week that in light of recent disclosures, he may ask the full slate of commissioners to resign.
Troy Henry, a commissioner and management consultant who this year finished a distant second to Landrieu in the mayoral election, pressed Bridger on whether the new credit car and take-home car policies would have "any adverse economic or other types of impacts" on the Public Belt's operations.
"I'm less concerned with complying with the city than making sure the railroad is well-serviced, as long as it's within the law," he said, referring to the vehicle rules.
Henry also expressed concern that the board might be sued if it revokes cars from top managers whose compensation packages include the perk, though Bridger said the workers' tax withholding doesn't account for the benefit.
Bridger said all but five of the 17 employees who had been assigned take-home cars have voluntarily given them up, adding that Public Belt executives don't work under formal contracts. He did not name the workers still driving public cars.
Answering Henry's concerns, Bridger said he is "in full agreement" with the new policies, which he said will not hamper service to Public Belt customers. Employees charged with responding at all hours to emergencies along the agency's 25 miles of city-owned track will continue to do their jobs, whether or not they have a take-home car, he said.
A century-old state-chartered agency, the Public Belt oversees tracks that stretch across the Huey P. Long Bridge, through the Port of New Orleans and on to eastern New Orleans. Financed by user fees, it receives no tax revenue but operates tax-free.
The board also barred bonuses for executives and tips for Public Belt employees. The latter directive erases a requirement that clients of the Public Belt's two functioning Pullman cars pay a "minimum gratuity of $100.00 each" to a pair of butlers who staff the cars.
Meanwhile, commissioners agreed to seek appraisals of the Public Belt's three Pullman cars -- acquired and restored by the agency for about $2 million -- in a step toward their possible sale.
The move came in reaction to an opinion issued Tuesday by the state attorney general regarding the cars, which the Public Belt uses to host catered parties for prospective clients, commissioners and local charities.
The agency doesn't charge for use of the cars, which costs about $1,000 for a four-hour excursion, officials have said.
Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell said the agency can allow "limited short-term uses" of the cars, "provided it obtains in return a value or benefit that is commensurate with such use."
"We advise the NOPB to develop a policy concerning, among other things, the manner in which the limited short-term uses will be scheduled, the amount of rental fees, and the type and amount of insurance required," Caldwell wrote.
The board assigned the committee that oversees the cars to craft such rules, as well as to decide how to handle the 43 upcoming reservations for their use, most of them for donors who paid between $3,000 and $5,000 to local charities for the chance to spend an evening - or perhaps ride to the top of the Huey P. Long Bridge - on the cars.
"Right now, no Pullman cars are being used. There's a moratorium on the usage of any Pullman cars," Becker said. "If charities are allowed to use these cars in the future, they will be required to pay some sort of a commensurate or appropriate fee for the use of these cars."
The attorney general also said it would be considered a "prohibited donation of public funds" for Public Belt to use its employees and equipment during business hours to renovate public playgrounds or parks. The agency has taken those very steps since Hurricane Katrina to rebuild recreation facilities owned by the city and private schools.
Caldwell said the Public Belt also doesn't have the legal authority to dip into its public coffers for contributions to tax-exempt organizations.
(This item appeared in the Times Picayune Aug. 19, 2010.)
