The Capital Area Transit (CAT) board of directors has long been aware of the 40 year old executive pension situation raised by Cumberland County officials on March 8. The current board directed an audit of the plan in the summer of 2016, which was completed in January 2017, and approved by the board in February 2017. The board has also taken steps to freeze the pension plan.
“If I could get rid of the plan today, I would,” Tony Johnson, CAT general manager, said.
The so called executive pension plan was established by the CAT board of directors in 1977 to compensate key executive personnel formerly with Harrisburg Railways who were not covered by an earlier employee pension plan established when CAT was incorporated by Cumberland County, Dauphin County and the City of Harrisburg in 1973.
“There has been no ‘cloud of mystery’ with this issue,” said Eric Bugaile Board chairman. “The plan has been included in CAT financial audits and annual budgets for decades. Under my tenure as board chair all of CAT financials have been audited without a single finding by the Auditors. The board, including the members from Cumberland County has voted repeatedly to approve those audits and budgets.”
Responding to criticism from county officials about CAT transit service in Cumberland County, Bugaile noted, “We have gone out of our way to provide excellent service to the citizens of Cumberland County. We conducted a pilot circulator project in the Borough of Carlisle, as well as provide current Shippensburg service and special warehouse employee service, connecting job seekers in Dauphin County with warehouse jobs in Cumberland County.”
