CAT pushes back against financial mismanagement claims

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Wednesday, Chatham Area Transit (CAT) denied accusations from Chatham County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis that the agency had misplaced roughly $4 million in paratransit funds — a claim Ellis raised in a recent letter that also threatened to withdraw county support next year.

CAT leaders say the allegation is wrong and are warning that the dispute could hurt the transit agency’s riders.

“For me just a personal way of saying it, when kids throw candy in the sand everybody’s gotta suffer,” CAT board chairman Detric Leggett said, describing the broader fallout from the ongoing conflict.

At a press event, CAT provided what it described as documentation rebutting Ellis’s claim that $4 million in paratransit funds had been misplaced.

“The county and CAT do this math, if there’s any math they think is wrong then they’ve just done the math wrong,” CAT spokesperson Spencer DeMink said.

CAT officials suggested the county’s actions followed a change in state law — House Bill 756 — that reduced Chatham County’s representation on the CAT board from 66 percent to 27 percent.

“I think they did the right thing, the way some people said it was done, it may have ruffled a few feathers,” Leggett said.

DeMink added, “It would seem that this was retaliatory. I think math started not mathing post-middle of the year when HB756 went into effect.”

WTOC reached out to Chairman Ellis’s office; a representative said he planned to issue a statement Thursday.

The county’s threat to pull funding specifically targets CAT’s paratransit division, a service that provides door-to-door transportation for riders with disabilities and others who rely on specialized transit. CAT warned that cutting the county’s support could jeopardize some services.

At the press conference, Leggett was asked about the possibility of the county board rescinding its termination letter, which could happen at Friday’s commission meeting.

“Even if that was to move forward I would still continue to have a conversation to open the door to our counterparts at the county so that they would understand what’s going on here,” said Leggett. “The door is open everyday.”

Leggett said he hopes to meet with county commissioners before the end of the year to clarify CAT’s operations and resolve outstanding questions.