A long-awaited audit of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), ordered by Mayor Paul Young following the 2024 discovery of a $60 million budget shortfall, was released Monday, July 28.
The report details a range of questionable purchases — many made using the CEO’s American Express card — and flags a series of “elevated-risk transactions,” including a $9,600 payment to a consulting firm that helped then-interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin prepare for a job interview for the permanent role.
Mauldin was later fired in late March after returning to her previous position as deputy CEO. MATA is currently being managed by a team of auditors from the Tampa-based firm TransPro Consulting, whose eight-month term is set to expire next month…