Pittsburgh Regional Transit CEO Katharine Kelleman is getting a $55,000 bonus, but exactly how the extra pay bump was determined is unclear.
The transit agency’s board on Friday unanimously approved the performance bonus with no discussion.
Under the terms of Kelleman’s contract, the board could’ve given her up to $62,400. She can receive a bonus of up to 20% of her annual base pay — which was $312,000 last year; instead she received 17.6%.
The board’s chair, Jennifer Liptak, said goals are set annually for the agency. The amount of Kelleman’s bonus is determined by how well she meets those goals.
Liptak declined to provide details because it is a “personnel matter.”
“But I can generally say it’s the performance of the agency, things like that,” Liptak said.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, on Monday said not all information under the category of “personnel matters” ought to be withheld from the public.
Nothing prohibits the transit agency from revealing the metrics used to grade its CEO — and Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law could even compel the agency to provide such information, though officials would not be required to release Kelleman’s performance reviews or scores.
“Just because something it a personnel matter does not mean it’s inaccessible,” Melewsky said. “It’s not unusual for reporters to hear that sort of generalization, ‘Oh, it’s personnel, so it’s not public.’”
The transit authority was forced to use $100 million in state funds this year to plug a massive budget deficit and avoid drastic service cuts and fare hikes.
An initial proposal — which sparked serious concern among riders — would’ve seen the transit agency slash services by 35% and raise fares by 9% this year.
Though officials avoided such draconian measures by using the state money to cover operating expenses this year and next, Kelleman last year acknowledged the authority was still in dire need of a more sustainable solution to its financial woes.
She called the measure a “Band-Aid fix” and said the authority would still be forced to delay some capital projects.
“I really do think she’s done a very good job under difficult circumstances,” Liptak said of Kelleman’s performance this year.
Kelleman stepped into her role as the head of Allegheny County’s transit authority in January 2018.
Colin McNickle, communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, told TribLive it “sends a bad message” to give the authority’s CEO a sizable bonus while it lobbies state legislators for more money to stay afloat.
“PRT is struggling, and they’re begging for dedicated funding, more funding, more funding,” McNickle said. “That’s a bad optic. You’re going to the legislature. You’re cash-strapped. But then you pay your CEO $55,000-plus in a bonus. It doesn’t look good.”
When asked whether the board considered skipping a bonus amid financial difficulties, Liptak said, “The CEO has a contract, and the contract is in place, so we honor the contract like any other contract in the agency.”
