Opinion: AC Transit’s no-show job for outgoing GM insults taxpayers
Now-outgoing General Manager Michael Hursh of AC Transit has been earning an exorbitant $400k+ salary for several years now—and will earn about $400k more before November, all while doing... no work. Below, Contra Costa Taxpayers Ass'n unpacks what's going on with AC Transit's controversial “sweetheart agreement,” and how Bay Area transit could better allocate its taxpayers' money.
The departing General Manager of AC Transit will receive hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to perform a no-show job between now and September 2025, apparently so that he can reach ten years of service and obtain increased pension benefits. The Contra Costa Taxpayers Association (CoCoTax) regards this deal as an insult to County residents whose sales taxes help fund AC Transit and as a reason to question the efforts of AC Transit and other Bay Area transit agencies to pass an additional tax in 2026.
The “sweetheart agreement” between AC Transit and outgoing GM Michael Hursh was revealed by AC Transit Ward 3 Director Sarah Syed and first reported in The Oaklandside. Syed criticized the cost of arrangement and alleged that the secretive method by which it was agreed violated California’s Brown Act.
Director Syed’s comments can be seen on the board meeting video here starting at 1:01:13 and have been posted in written form here.
Unlike almost every other public agency in the Bay Area, AC Transit has failed to file a compliant 2023 compensation report with the California State Controller’s Office, so Hursh’s compensation for that year is unknown. But, in 2022, he received $423,205 in wages and the district made $132,840 in retirement and health benefit contributions on his behalf. If his 2025 compensation continues at these rates, he would receive approximately $417,000 during the next nine months.
A CoCoTax review of records published by the State Controller and Transparent California reveals that 31 Bay Area transportation executives received over $300,000 in wages during 2023 (or, in the case of AC Transit, 2022). They are listed on the following page.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission plan to ask Bay Area voters to approve an additional 0.5% sales tax and/or a parcel tax in 2026. CoCoTax President Marc Joffe said “Transit agencies should rein in their expenses before demanding more taxpayer funds. Contra Costa residents on low and moderate incomes should not be expected to pay more for essential goods so that transit officials can continue receiving lavish compensation packages.”
In a November 2024 Bay Area News Group commentary Joffe reported that AC Transit’s $606 million operating budget amounted to about $15 for each ride, which averages just four miles. He recommended that the agency save money by merging with other transit operators to share overheads (such as executive compensation), trimming benefits, and choosing a single clean energy program rather than run both electric and hydrogen buses.
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