CATS troubles put Charlotte manager’s job under scrutiny. Will council rule on his role?

The Charlotte city manager’s role in the city’s transit system troubles will be considered during his annual review this summer, some council members say.

City Council members are publicly talking about Manager Marcus Jones’ role in and response to a number of recent Charlotte Area Transit System troubles, and at least two members expect the conversation to make an appearance during his annual review. Recent troubles include a Blue Line light rail train derailment in May 2022 due to delayed maintenance, missed bridge inspections and being behind on parts replacements for its bus fleet. Those are joined by staffing issues that led to bus service cuts last summer.

All three of CATS’ top executives — the CEO, COO and CFO — in charge at the beginning of last year are no longer with the agency. In an April interview with The Charlotte Observer, former CEO John Lewis alleged City Manager Marcus Jones shared the blame for CATS’ troubles. Lewis resigned from the agency in November.

City staff members told a different story. Jones, interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle and communications director Jason Schneider defended the city’s procurement process and raised questions about Lewis’ own cooperativeness. Councilman Ed Driggs also defended Jones in recent public meetings and praised his work in other city departments.

But a comment from Councilwoman Renee Jonson at Monday’s transportation committee meeting is one of a growing number from the City Council questioning the degree to which Jones is at fault for the city’s transit problems. Johnson said she’ll need to see a full investigation before determining Jones’ responsibility.

“Council has not made a determination yet, because we have not gathered all of the facts. Particularly when it comes to Mr. Lewis,” Johnson said. “I believe that the buck stops with Mr. Jones also.”

Johnson said she supports an outside investigation into the agency — a proposal first raised in March by Mecklenburg County Commissioner Leigh Altman after news of a 2022 derailment.

Johnson’s comments came after Councilman Ed Driggs said the council would consider Jones’ role in the mismanagement of CATS.

“I recognize fully that during our review of the manager, this is going to be a topic and it’s going to be a difficult topic,” Driggs said after clarifying his comments on the manager’s performance were a personal opinion. “I get that. I was just trying to maintain little balance.”

Councilman Malcolm Graham also said accountability falls on Jones.

“He is the boss. Council only has three direct reports. There’s an attorney, the city clerk and city manager, and whether it was CATS, whether it was finance or utilities, he is the boss,” Graham said. “I will respect him as the boss and he has broad shoulders to shoulder a lot of responsibility to do it. But for me, that’s where the accountability for my variety of issues start and stop.”

For Councilman Tariq Bokhari, Jones bears responsibility, but Lewis was at “the root cause of these issues” and the city is working to “clean up in CATS.”

“The buck ultimately stops with the city manager, and I’m confident this will be a material conversation during his next annual review,” Bokhari said.

Other council members did not return requests Wednesday.

City manager’s next performance review

Jones’ culpability for CATS-related issues first entered the public conversation during a March 30 news conference when the city manager revealed he received a text from Lewis about the derailment after previously telling city officials he was unaware until a revelation from Cagle. A reporter asked Jones if he should be disciplined for missing the text.

“That would be totally up to the council in terms of how the council addresses this particular situation for me,” Jones said. “One of the things was it was important to talk about it publicly.”

Jones next review is scheduled for June 20, but it could be moved to June 26, city spokesperson Lawrence Corley said. Jones’ reviews for 2021 and 2022 were held jointly Nov. 21. After the review, Jones received a 14% raise — to a total of $434,551 per year.

Jones, whose role is to run the city’s day-to-day operations and follow City Council policy, makes nearly a half-million dollars, more than any other city employee. The Charlotte City Council has the power to fire or discipline Jones.

One effect of Charlotte’s transit troubles: Jones has done more interviews with press, including talking to the Observer last month after the interview with Lewis.

Jones last month also did a rare one-on-one interview with The Charlotte Ledger, where he addressed why he previously stayed out of the spotlight and said “he didn’t want his lack of availability seen as a lack of accountability.” Jones also appeared on WFAE’s Charlotte Talks radio show Wednesday morning with Mayor Vi Lyles — something the mayor usually does alone.

This story was originally published May 4, 2023 at 6:00 AM.

Genna Contino

The Charlotte Observer

Genna Contino previously covered local government for the Observer, where she wrote about Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. She attended the University of South Carolina and grew up in Rock Hill.