Concerned about rising litigation costs by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas this morning urged the Board of Supervisors to authorize an audit by the County Auditor-Controller of the agency’s cost management process. The MTA reportedly spent more than $30 million on a recent case, $10 million of which may have been spent without approval of the MTA.
MTA officials are forecasting a $250 million operating deficit,. the largest in the agency's history. They blame cuts in state funding as well as a decline in ridership.
In his motion, Mr. Ridley-Thomas said the Supervisors and MTA directors should be concerned about whether they are following procedure, whether they adhered to appropriate controls, reviews and approvals in recent cases. He called on the Supervisors to introduce a motion at the next MTA Board meeting to authorize an audit to be performed or supervised by the Auditor-Controller, to conduct a preliminary review of the MTA’s litigation cost management process.
Then Mr. Ridley-Thomas wants the auditor to report back to the MTA Board within a month with an inventory of MTA litigation cases in the last three years. The report will include:
• A cost estimate for performing an in-depth litigation cost management review of sample cases,
• And it will propose a scope for an in-depth review of the MTA’S case management practices, compliance with procedures and risk management best practices. The Supervisors have been working to reduce the County’s litigation costs. They are requiring required departments to provide corrective action plans to reduce future losses. Earlier, the Supervisors ordered the Auditor-Controller to review the County Counsel’s litigation cost management practices.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas may be contacted at http://ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov
