In a rare public address to the MARTA Board of Directors on March 13, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens laid out a number of recent issues between the city and transit agency — including a recent claim that MARTA owes $865,630 in taxpayer-funded More MARTA project costs instead of the $70 million found in a 2024 city audit.
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported on March 12 that MARTA hired the firm KPMG to assess the methodology in the August 2024 audit of the More MARTA Atlanta program. The half-penny sales tax approved by voters in 2016 created a 40-year plan for transit expansion.
In his initial remarks to the board, Dickens doubled down on the $70 million cost from the city’s audit by Mauldin & Jenkins, but MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood maintained that the agency had disputed the number since the audit began.
“I wanted to mention that the methodology that Mauldin & Jenkins used, we didn’t just recently identify, is not appropriate,” Greenwood said.
Greenwood said the agency took issue with the methodology before the draft was printed. According to KPMG, Mauldin & Jenkins used a “threshold” method to conduct the audit. The threshold method attributed all service increases or decreases after 2016 to More MARTA, which the agency deemed unfair.
Instead, KPMG and MARTA looked to a “proportional” method that spreads cost through the system. The proportional method results in $865,630 owed instead of the multimillion price tag.
“This is not news to MARTA that the $70 million is an incorrect number,” Greenwood said.
But Dickens rejected the KPMG findings, stressing the review was not a full audit. Greenwood agreed but stood by the new numbers.
“I reject the financial conclusion in this report and stand by the findings of the original audit that was conducted, and I am committed to working on a feasible solution to this issue,” Dickens said.
The strongly worded remarks echoed ongoing tensions between the city and MARTA, but the address is one of Mayor Dicken’s first time bringing the conflict to the public.
“This new, so-called audit is a slap in the face to all Atlanta taxpayers that have the desire to see these projects move forward,” Dickens said.
Dickens also denied recent findings from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that tied permitting delays on the Five Points MARTA Station renovation to the audit issues. Chief Operating Officer Lachandra Banks said permits were held up by MARTA, not the city. As of Mar. 13, the agency has a permit to demolish the canopy.
“Anyone who told you we are holding up any permits is lying to you,” Dickens said.
City officials also killed long-standing Beltline rail plans to extend the Streetcar East onto the Eastside Beltline. Instead, the city committed to Beltline rail on the Southside trail.
The mayor’s heated remarks on the audit and permits cooled down after board members proposed working together. Board member W. Thomas Worthy said the agency and the city may need to scrap it out and find the “truth in the middle.”
“I would like for us to have some engagement at the board level with you and your team and try to reach some consensus there,” Worthy said.
Another board member, Jim Durrett encouraged the agency and the city to set a “really short schedule” and resolve the audit issue within the next 30 days.
Dickens stood by the $70 million number but said the agency and the city should “talk this through” on a timeline.
“Another board member, Jim Durrett encouraged the agency and the city to set a “really short schedule” and resolve the audit issue within the next 30 days. ”
“I wanted to mention that the methodology that Mauldin & Jenkins used, we didn’t just recently identify, is not appropriate,” Greenwood said.
Excellent!
I just would like you to know. This train is bound where airport station strict, but there needs to be a really be a huge audit, and there’s now where the money goes. And the federal, when we get right, not just the money from the taxpayers, we need to know where it all goes. And who’s got it, who’s taking it. Who’s doing all this we need to really know the truth, because these projects are taking too long to get done. They talk a bit tall, but they don’t get ever given dying. We need to really sit down and really get this worked, so we really understand what’s going on. That’s a rider. I don’t trust Marty. I’m not writing every day. And it’s just sad that one goes on, do a lot of home. Me thinking of how we do things and let the public help.Do you think the situation.
Money for Nothing
MARTA’s 8/28/2023 Bus Service Enhancements Report says “At the highest point in December 2018, the More MARTA Atlanta bus service enhancements added approximately 236,000 additional annualized hours to designated bus routes, an increase of roughly 25%… At the time of this writing More MARTA Atlanta bus service enhancement levels in operation remain low, roughly 1% higher than before enhancements began in 2017.”
The 3/10/2025 Current State Assessment and Cost Allocation Assessment Report prepared for MARTA by KPMG advocates for a Proportional Method, which calculates a set percentage of vehicle revenue hours (9.7%) and miles (10.3%) that are attributed to … the Program as of December 2019. Those set percentages were then used as a base to allocate the operating and maintenance costs for all subsequent years.”
So since you cut my grass a few times several years ago and you enjoyed having the income, I should continue to Zelle you, so you don’t have to reduce service to your other customers. That’s some bull mess.
Bus Service Enhancements have largely vanished, but MARTA desperately wants to continue skimming 45% of Atlanta’s half penny expansion revenue into the general operating fund and pocketing leftovers in the unified reserve. MARTA staff routinely refer to what’s left for expansion projects as the “quarter penny.” That’s just wrong.
Two things are glaringly absent from the trove of documents provided by MARTA related to the dueling audits of the More MARTA Atlanta Program.
1) The $2.7 billion (2018 dollars) 40-year program presented to Atlanta’s Mayor on 9/27/2018 and adopted by the MARTA Board on 10/04/2018 that allocates $238 million (8.8% of program total) to frequent local bus operations
2) The MARTA contract with HNTB as requested by Mauldin & Jenkins, which would shed light on the More MARTA Atlanta Financial Model, from which the budget practice of skimming half off the top of Atlanta’s expansion funds and calling it “bus service enhancements” emanates.
The fix for the future is simple. The MARTA Board simply needs to adopt a policy that 100% of Atlanta’s half penny expansion funds – not 55% – gets budgeted for expansion projects every year. The systemwide operating budget needs to fit within the core penny and any transfers from COA dedicated reserves for other purposes need a line item vote. Then top that off by terminating the crooked Financial Model contract with HNTB.
We should move forward with connecting the 13 metro counties for a economic impact to Atlanta and other cities… Starting with $70M or $865k would be a good start..
Mack for Midtown