Former trolley operator bills TPO $148,000
By John Henderson, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
TPO members agreed with their attorney,
"Unfortunately, they didn't pursue other avenues to research and hear the other side,"
In May, TPO approved First Transit to take over as operator of the public transit system. First Transit became responsible for overseeing the daily operation in July.
In mid-June, Santa Ynez Valley Transportation submitted a flash drive containing invoices for extra charges the company claimed was owed to it during its five-year contract. The TPO paid two invoices in the amounts of
Of the remaining invoices, one claim for
That time period is the year prior to the retroactive increase approved by the TPO in April, 2014, so the company is not owed this money, Henry told the TPO.
"They are claiming an extra year increase," Henry told the TPO.
But
She said their last negotiated rate that was approved by the TPO was valid from July of 2011 to June of 2012. She said negotiations were supposed to occur on the rate for the next year, but were postponed. Contractually, this means the TPO is responsible for paying the last negotiated rate, she said.
"We went without a new negotiated contract for two years until First Transit took over (the trolley service)," she said. "To me, they are in breach of contract."
Another invoice, in the amount of
"This one may have some merit but I don't see it clearly," Henry said.
After hearing that, the TPO, which is made up of city and county elected officials, agreed that Henry should sit down and negotiate this charge with the Meeks. Henry also said there is always a chance a case like this could end up in court, and the attorney's fees could cost more than a settlement.
"We redesigned all the routes and submitted it to
The third open invoice, in the amount of
The buses were delivered in July of 2011, and replaced with different models in May or June of 2012, Henry said.
"My reading of the contract is the operator is responsible for the maintenance of all the vehicles and insurance of all the vehicles," Henry said.
The final open invoice, for
"It doesn't state in the contract that trash pickup is part of their job, but that is the norm in the industry," Henry said.
"The fact is, if you look at the major transit agencies around
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