Rideshare Head Forced To Quit Post Nearly $67,000 Missing From Sta Commuter Program

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Friday, February 10, 2000): Correction Date incorect: Spokane Transit Authority hired Leann Telecky in 1993. A story in Wednesday’s paper gave an incorrect date.

The Rideshare coordinator for the Spokane Transit Authority was forced to resign in December when nearly $67,000 was discovered missing from the commuter program’s revenues over a three-year period.

Leann Telecky quit under threat of firing, according to documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review.

Rideshare is a program aimed at reducing traffic congestion in which several commuters pay a monthly fare to ride together in an STA-owned van.

STA officials refused to comment on Telecky’s termination, referring questions to their attorney, Tom Kingen.

“No one suspects Leann took the money. No one suspects a crime has been committed,” Kingen said. “They’re investigating to determine how it is that this money could be missing.”

Allina Johnson of the Washington state auditor’s office is investigating the missing revenues but said she couldn’t comment on an ongoing inquiry.

According to STA internal documents, a maintenance worker cleaning a Rideshare van last September found several personal checks made out to STA.

A subsequent internal investigation found that Telecky wasn’t accounting for fares collected by drivers, said a Nov. 29 memo to Telecky from Human Resources Manager Carol Hawkins and Transportation Superintendent Andrew Overhauser.

“The negligence resulted in a serious discrepancy between fares due and fares collected,” the memo said.

Telecky and her supervisors “reconstructed records” to estimate the amount of money missing, according to the memo. They found that in 1997, the program couldn’t account for about $29,060, in 1998, about $21,838, and for the first nine months of 1999, about $15,391.

The memo lauds Telecky for cooperating with the investigation but adds that her “failure to reconcile the Rideshare accounts is unacceptable. Your work performance is unsatisfactory and is a neglect of duty.” It went on to say that Telecky would be fired Dec. 2 if she didn’t resign, which she did.

Efforts to reach Telecky on Tuesday were unsuccessful. She has worked for STA since 1983, earning $36,220 in 1998.

Neither STA spokeswoman Teresa Stueckle nor Kingen could explain what happened to the fares or say who besides Telecky should have known about the missing money.

“That’s why we’re following through with the state auditor on this to see if there’s culpability,” Kingen said.

Under the Rideshare program, at least eight and up to 14 people who live or work in an area served by public transit can commute using an STA van.

STA owns 32 vans. Twenty currently are being used, carrying commuters to Spokane from as far away as Coeur d’Alene, Stueckle said.

Van drivers aren’t STA employers but free-lancers who drive the vans in exchange for free transportation. They have several duties, including staying ticket-free, keeping records on passengers, van maintenance and collecting fares.

STA charges 43.5 cents per mile traveled by van. A 30-mile commute based on an average 21 workdays per month would cost $285 a month, a cost shared by passengers.

Drivers collect fares a month in advance and must turn them in to STA by the fifth day of each month, according to the Rideshare driver’s manual. The fares are supposed to be paid by checks or money order made out to STA.

The Rideshare program aspires to be self-supporting, Stueckle said.

But records show the program has operated at a loss ranging from $4,000 to $22,500 for four of the past five years. During that period, expenses were between $99,000 and $117,000, while revenues ranged from $94,000 to $110,000.

The missing money is especially troubling at a time when STA is cutting service, said City Councilman Steve Eugster, who recently joined the STA board.

STA is facing layoffs and service cuts due to Initiative 695, which ended the motor vehicle excise tax, replacing it with a $30 fee. Revenue from the taxes made up 40 percent of STA’s operating budget.

“A significant series of acts of wrongdoing have taken place, and the agency has lost several thousand dollars,” Eugster said. “The agency doesn’t have that kind of money to lose.”

Johnson, of the state auditor’s office, said her investigation should be done in April. If evidence of criminal wrongdoing is found, her report will be sent to the Spokane County prosecutor’s office.