![Ohio's auditor says RTA Trustee Valarie McCall must repay the compensation she received as a transit agency board member because she was serving in her capacity as a city official. [Nick Castele / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b1a5121/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F8%2F27%2F0321rtabus%5B1%5D.jpg)
A top Cleveland official must repay tens of thousands of dollars she collected as a member of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority board, the state auditor said Thursday.
RTA trustee Valarie McCall, who also serves as Mayor Frank Jackson鈥檚 chief of governmental affairs, improperly received $57,200 from the transit authority, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber found .
Although board members are entitled to a $400 monthly stipend, McCall should have gone unpaid because she served on the board in her capacity as a city official, Faber found.
鈥淢s. McCall was appointed as an employee of the city and in seeking payment, she was effectively receiving double compensation,鈥� .
Faber also found RTA鈥檚 former secretary-treasurer and board president liable for the repayment.
In an emailed statement, McCall鈥檚 attorney, Jon Pinney, questioned why RTA had approved the payments in the first place, only to raise questions about them later.
鈥淭he RTA compensated Board members pursuant to its bylaws for over 30 years,鈥� Pinney wrote. 鈥淢s. McCall was no exception. It is very troubling that RTA authorized and issued the board stipend to Ms. McCall and then subsequently raised the matter to the Ohio Auditor. It is even more troubling that she has apparently been singled out by RTA. We are pleased that the Auditor found RTA鈥檚 former officers jointly and severally liable for reimbursing the RTA and look forward to resolving this matter swiftly.鈥�
McCall鈥檚 2006 board appointment letter stipulated that she not be compensated, though subsequent letters didn鈥檛 address her pay, according to the audit.
RTA did not pay McCall until 2014, when she requested back pay and received $35,600, the audit says. She then received a monthly stipend until 2018.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, RTA Board President Dennis Clough said he agreed with the auditor鈥檚 findings.
鈥淲e are eager to see that taxpayers鈥� money be returned to RTA,鈥� Clough, the mayor of Westlake, said in the statement. 鈥淣ecessary steps are being taken to recover the money.鈥�
Faber鈥檚 audit also found that former board president George Dixon III must repay $132,000 in unpaid healthcare benefits. Dixon pleaded guilty to theft in office in late 2019, in connection with the benefits, and a judge already ordered him to return the money as part of his sentence.
