RIPTA CEO close to a 1-year extension but fight over transit control continues

Rhode Island Public Transit Authority CEO Scott Avedisian, whose performance leading the statewide bus operator came under fire this year, is nearing a one-year contract extension that would keep him in the job until the summer of 2024.

With Avedisian's current contract expiring at the end of the month, RIPTA's three-member Executive Compensation Committee Wednesday unanimously recommended a one-year extension, which will go to the agency's full Board of Directors for approval May 17.

If approved, Avedisian will get a 2% raise, the same pay hike RIPTA bus drivers received in their most recent union contract. And he will undergo a newly designed performance review next winter.

Avedisian is making $178,231 per year under his current contract. The proposed extension would bump his pay starting in June to $181,795 per year, according to RIPTA spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry.

More on RIPTA: From fiscal cliffs to free fares — what is the future of RIPTA?

RIPTA leadership in hot water

Avedisian's future at RIPTA — which faces a $30 million post-pandemic budget crisis — was called into question in February by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who said the quasi-state bus operator should be folded into the Department of Transportation.

Ruggerio said Avedisian, the former longtime Republican mayor of Warwick, failed to develop a concrete plan to plug the agency's budget gap and build back ridership lost during the COVID years.

That followed a dust-up between Avedisian and members of the RIPTA Board over his unilateral hiring of a lobbying firm employing former GOP congressional and gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung to advocate on RIPTA's behalf.

More: Allan Fung's new $84K-a-year lobbying contract with RIPTA questioned by some. Here's why

Last month, the Board of Directors also tabled a proposed resolution asking the General Assembly for money because some members felt it was too vague.

One year deal represents a compromise

The unanimous Compensation Committee recommendation for a one-year contract extension, instead of the two-year deals given to previous RIPTA CEOs, appears to take a middle ground between Avedisian's supporters and those who think it is time for a change.

Board member and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Crowley, who supported Ruggerio's call for new RIPTA leadership, described the one-year extension Wednesday as a compromise.

"From my point of view, it gives the CEO a year to demonstrate to me whether improvements are made. If they are, then maybe he should stay," Crowley said. "And if not, then maybe not."

Specifically, Crowley said he wants to see a better union-management relationship at RIPTA and a concrete action plan to resolve the agency's fiscal woes.

RIPTA Board Chairman Normand Benoit who, like Crowley, was on the Compensation Committee, said he remains fully supportive of Avedisian, but agrees with those who think there should be a more rigorous evaluation of the CEO's performance.

"It wouldn’t have made that much sense to have a new process and then do multiple years," Benoit said.

Exactly what performance criteria will be used in the new evaluation process is yet to be determined.

According to a report from RIPTA staff for the Compensation Committee, most quasi-state agencies in Rhode Island conduct relatively informal and limited performance reviews of their chief executives.

Avedisian, in a statement, said "I appreciate" the recommendation for a one-year extension.

"Together with our union leadership, executive management and Board, we will continue to deliver a safe, effective world class transit system for the people of Rhode Island," he said. "Together our contributions will help create a lasting impact and a bright future for the agency and our state."

Ruggerio: “While I believe the time is now for new direction at RIPTA, I am pleased to hear that the board is working towards implementing a formal review and evaluation process of the CEO’s performance.”

RIDOT takeover of RIPTA still not off the table

Even if the full RIPTA Board approves an Avedisian extension on the 17th, it could become moot if the General Assembly orders the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to swallow RIPTA.

And on that count, Ruggerio has not given up.

He is set to introduce a bill in the Senate Thursday that would have RIDOT "assume the powers and duties of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority" and take control of all RIPTA property on July 1.

RIPTA would continue to exist for "providing labor to the DOT" and "maintaining the pension plan."

Union workers would remain employees of the transit agency and not become state workers while non-union RIPTA workers kept by the DOT would become state workers. (Jobs covered by the Laborers International Union, when they become vacant, would be replaced with LIUNA state employee positions.)

The state law that dedicates a portion of state gas tax revenue to RIPTA would be eliminated.

And the director of the Department of Transportation would become executive director of the department.

"We need a visionary transit department led by professionals who are accountable to the public," Ruggerio said in a news release. "The director of RIDOT answers directly to the Governor, and serves with advice and consent of the Senate. There is no good reason that a service as vital as transit should be handled by a quasi-public instead of a transparent, accountable state agency.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian could get a one-year contract extension