MARTA says it shortchanged More MARTA fund $865K, not $70M as city audit claimed

The city hired Mauldin & Jenkins following concerns from City Council members that Atlantans weren’t getting enough out of the half-penny More MARTA sales tax, approved by voters in 2016.

The city report determined MARTA overcharged for bus and other operational expenses by as much as $70 million. MARTA agreed with some of the recommendations but disputed the total, and said at the time the auditor’s calculations were based on a flawed methodology.

The sales tax began funding enhanced service for Atlanta in 2017. Originally, any service improvements — like increased frequency on a bus route — was charged to the More MARTA operational fund. Fenley said this approach made sense in the program’s early days because service was only being added in Atlanta.

It stopped being a good methodology during the COVID-19 pandemic, when MARTA cut service throughout its entire coverage area, she said. That meant that decreases anywhere — even DeKalb, Fulton or Clayton counties — were attributed to the Atlanta operational fund.

KMPG says it would be better to calculate Atlanta service enhancements as a proportion of MARTA’s overall service. Under that methodology, they calculated that MARTA overcharged the operational account by $865,630.

City spokesperson Allison Fouché said the city is reviewing the report.

“We will provide further details once the review is complete,” she said. “We stand by our initial audit and look forward to working with MARTA on the remaining $60 million owed to Atlanta taxpayers.”

Importantly, neither audit found money was misspent on nontransit purposes. The dispute is over whether the More MARTA operational fund was appropriately charged for enhanced services or whether that money should be in the capital fund instead.

MARTA General Manager and CFO Collie Greenwood told legislators that, through January, MARTA has transferred close to $20 million from the Atlanta operating fund to the capital fund as a good-faith gesture to resolve the dispute.

That includes $9.9 million that was identified by the Mauldin & Jenkins audit that MARTA agrees was overcharged in 2022.

Greenwood said he hopes to resolve the dispute with the city quickly. Previously, he and other officials have accused the city of using the pending audit to hold up permits for the Five Points station renovation. Fouché has denied that.

State Rep. Deborah Silcox, who chairs the state legislative committee that oversees MARTA, said the methodology proposed by KPMG seems to be the most accurate way of accounting for services provided.

She hopes the latest report will lead to a resolution.

“I hope they will have some discussions and come to some agreement,” Silcox said. “I sincerely hope that they can get the permits to start the Five Points work.”