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Audit Hits San Bernardino, Calif.-Area Transit Turnover

Posted on: Thursday, 8 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Andrew Silva, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

Dec. 8--Abusive management, a lack of training and noncompetitive salaries -- all contributed to the high turnover in the finance department of the region's bus agency, according to a survey of former employees.

The latest in a series of audits that have pointed out problems at Omnitrans was presented to the agency's board of directors at its Wednesday meeting.

Omnitrans officials have said accounting errors in previous routine audits were partially caused by high turnover in the finance section.

In a department with 17 positions, 22 people quit between January 2000 and August 2005, the report said. In that same period, the department had five finance directors.

Ten former employees of the 14 who were interviewed cited the work environment as their key reason for leaving the agency, which provides bus service through most of the San Bernardino Valley.

Six of those blamed one finance director in particular.

"The individual had poor supervisory/interpersonal skills, constantly criticized employees, was demeaning and condescending in their communication style and demonstrated a lack of concern of staff," the report stated.

The report was prepared by the county Human Resources Department and cost about $4,600.

The Omnitrans finance director's position is vacant, and the agency is conducting a nationwide search, said Durand Rall, general manager.

The search is being conducted more broadly than in the past, focusing on national transit publications and organizations and finding someone with specific experience in transit, is high on the priority list, he said.

The audit was spurred by members of the agency's board after reports of accounting errors and allegations by a former manager that contracts were being mismanaged. The 20-member board is made up of all five county supervisors and elected city council members from throughout the valley.

"The finance department was a critical issue. We're desperately in need of getting that department solidified," said Pat Gilbreath, a Redlands council member and chairman of the Omnitrans board.

Rall said the agency doesn't plan to use a headhunter firm to find a finance director, but it is a possibility.

The survey did find that the finance director's salary is about 12 percent below average for similar jobs.

The board agreed Wednesday to bump the scale by 15 percent to remove salary as a potential stumbling block.

That would put the finance director at or above the top of comparable positions elsewhere, said Jessica Tafolla, an analyst for 2nd District Supervisor Paul Biane, who sits on the Omnitrans board but couldn't attend the meeting.

Biane remains concerned about the hiring process and wants to make sure the next manager is a good fit, she said.

"Offering them more money doesn't mean you'll get the best candidates," Tafolla said.

Biane was concerned that when Omnitrans did its own internal survey of the finance department, it would find salary was the main issue. The report submitted Wednesday found only two former employees who said salary was their reason for leaving, with 10 citing the work environment.

One employee in the survey criticized Rall, and two others said he was a secondary reason for their departure. They said he was inflexible and not supportive.

Rall said it's not unusual for employees to chafe at direction from management.

Others in the survey, though, spoke highly of Rall, saying he was supportive of making needed changes and that he allowed them the freedom to do their jobs.

One former employee charged that the department has illegally engaged in "bid-splitting," meaning a project expected to cost enough to require board review was split into two smaller jobs to avoid scrutiny.

Rall flatly denied the agency did that.

In a separate action also a result of bad press over the past year, the board agreed to hire O'Reilly Public Relations in Riverside to help the agency polish its image. The contract is not to exceed $250,000 over five years.

A performance audit that will scrutinize the entire agency is scheduled to be undertaken as well.

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Copyright (c) 2005, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

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Source: San Bernardino County Sun

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