Ben Franklin Transit In Tri-Cities Facing A New Round Of Headaches?

Any entity that receives taxpayer dollars is always going to have it's fair share of scrutiny.  Ben Franklin Transit is no different.  Over the course of almost 45 years of operation, BFT has dealt with talks of funding cuts, leadership turnover, and more recently, a discrimination lawsuit.

The Latest Accusations Deal With Money

The Tri-City Herald reported that BFT's former CFO raised some concerns regarding funds on hand and whether some of those funds might be spent outside of the authority's stated mission.  There were also some allegation made by the Teamster's Union that represents the drivers.

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There were also allegation made against current CEO Thomas Drozt with regard to handling of employees and potential actions made against them, such as termination, that could be perceived as retaliatory.

I reached out to some people I know that would have knowledge of the situation and this is what I was told:

• Members of the Transit Authority Board (comprised of local elected officials from the BFT service area) are aware of the allegations and plan to sign off on an investigation into the allegations at their Thursday night meeting.
• Some of the allegations made concern some things currently being looked over by BFT's legal department.  I was told whatever decision is made by legal will be followed.
• Some of the labor allegations have already been dealt with while others are still pending

Transit has been under scrutiny from many in the public, and elected officials, for some time.  Empty buses have come under criticism as has the way they count ridership.  Their nearly $100 million in reserves has also raised eyebrows as that number has quintupled since roughly 2019.

Any proof of mismanagement or misappropriation of funds would only renew calls for changes to be made to the current tax structure that funds transit (.03% in sales tax per county) as well as immediate changes in leadership and maybe even oversight.

We will continue to update this story as it develops.