Metro’s general manager is cleaning house and eliminating at least two positions from his top management team.
John Catoe said Thursday he is restructuring his 16-member executive team, including eliminating a few positions to save about half a million dollars in salaries and benefits. He called the moves “purely budgetary.”
The shift comes as the agency is facing a widening budget gap next year of $175 million plus shortfalls in the current year. The cuts are part of $10 million in planned department reductions. Last year the transit agency cut 313 jobs during another tough budget cycle, but none of Catoe’s top leadership.
The latest departures include Chief Administrative Officer Emeka Moneme and Assistant General Manager Jack Requa, a seasoned transit veteran who served as acting general manager before Catoe’s arrival, according to three top officials who had been briefed on the matter. They asked not to be named since Catoe had not announced the employees’ names publicly.
Some support positions in those divisions also are being cut.
Requa is retiring on Jan. 11 after nearly 12 years with the agency, spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein confirmed. He has held top positions at Metro, including running the bus system. Previously he has held key management positions at transit systems in Boston, Houston, St. Louis and Saudi Arabia.
Metro sent out a notice to all employees late last month thanking him for his service. He declined to comment directly about his retirement on Thursday.
Metro sent out a notice to all employees late last month thanking him for his service. He declined to comment directly about his retirement on Thursday.
Moneme, the chief administrative officer who once headed the District Department of Transportation, had been the face of the agency most recently on the $200 million in federal stimulus grants the agency received. He was among the youngest on the executive leadership team.
However, his name was mentioned last month when Chief Safety Officer Alexa Dupigny-Samuels was questioned about her decision to block a local oversight group from inspecting tracks. Although top officials had said they did not know of the dispute with the Tri-State Oversight Committee, she said she alerted him of the issue as her direct supervisor.
Moneme did not respond for comment on Thursday.
Metro officials say the track inspection dispute and other recent safety issues had nothing to do with the decision to eliminate any of the positions.
