Barbara Murdock

Suspended Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority executive director Barbara Murdock was fired by the Board of Directors at its meeting on Wednesday afternoon, effective immediately.

The vote was 6-1-2. Director Patrick Sellers was the lone "no" vote. Director Ted Smith and board chair Darryl Cunningham, who joined the board last month, abstained.

"The people who voted for [termination] voted based on what they knew," Cunningham said following the meeting. "Being new, I am not up to speed on everything. But [the board] wanted to make sure everything was clean going forward."

Sellers objected to the firing because Murdock "did not have due process," he said. "She was suspended without telling her what she was suspended for."

Murdock was suspended without pay in April over the alleged "unauthorized use" of the BJCTA credit card for personal expenses, including, it was later learned by AL.com, an Alabama power bill totaling $477.25.

Additionally, AL.com revealed last month that Murdock received two checks in September 2016 totaling $20,000--one for $18,000, the other $2,000--that were requisitioned under "Relocation Expenses," according to copies of the requisition forms and checks. She had recently been named executive director after serving two years as chief of staff under predecessor, Ann August.

The allegations are being investigated by the state attorney general's office, Cunningham confirmed.

When reached by telephone, Murdock, who did not attend the meeting, refused to comment on the firing, referring all questions to her attorney, Rod Cooks.

"We are exploring all options," Cooks said via text message, "including litigation."

The firing came suddenly and quickly after the board returned from a 24-minute executive session to discuss "pending litigation," Sellers said in the motion calling for the session.

"We need to deal with the Barbara Murdock issue," he added.

During the session, according to sources, it was also revealed that the attorney general's office is seeking more information for its investigation.

Reinstating Murdock's pay--she earned $206,000--pending the outcome of the investigation, was also discussed, along with other options, including termination. Salary reinstatement was quickly dismissed, sources confirmed, and some directors argued for resolving the executive director's employment status immediately.

When the board returned, Cunningham quickly called for a motion to adjourn as director Martin Weinberg appeared to be preparing to speak. Director Ruby Davis, said, "Director Weinberg is trying to make a motion."

Weinberg moved that the board "officially terminate executive director Barbara Murdock, effective immediately." The motion was seconded by Davis.

"We needed to make a decision on Barbara," Weinberg said. "The investigation may go on for a while, so we need to go ahead and do something."

Interim executive director Christopher Ruffin remains in that position, although Cunningham said, "I love the job he's doing".

The firing was the culmination of yet another head-scratching BJCTA board meeting, one characterized by calls for stabilization after a whirlwind two months of departures among the BJCTA's executive team.

Most prominent among them were Mike Sims, the interim director of human resources, and Ron Sweeney, the long-time head of maintenance.

During the committee of the whole meeting last Wednesday, Ruffin said Sweeney's resignation "caught us off guard". He was not personally informed by Sweeney, who instead shared his decision with director of safety Dale Knutson.

"Frankly he didn't need to work," Knutson said during the meeting. "He decided it was a good time to go."

Among its actions this Wednesday, the board voted to accept the request made on March 28 by board attorney Deborah Walker to be released from her contract, which was to have ended on June 30, effectively immediately.

Before voting on the resolution to release Walker, director LeDon Jones, who was sworn in just last month said: "Seems like every day I meet someone, they're gone the next day. There have been too many changes too fast. We have to slow down.

"Until we start acting properly as a board and get our house in order, how can we expect anyone else to have their house in order?"

Moments later, J.O. Hill, the retired former president of transit union Local 725, reiterated that sentiment by reciting the names of the seven people who've held BJCTA executive director title since 1994.

"Everything changes too much," he said. "Sometimes history can help you in the future. For this kind of rollover, there has to be a problem somewhere. We got to have some consistency and people stay in place long enough, so we can all come together."

Earlier this month, Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin threatened to withhold funding to the authority unless it met three conditions, one of which was to "development of a "leadership stability plan attributed to a timeline".

In perhaps the oddest action of the day, the board passed a resolution to exercise the first of two one-year extensions to the law firm of Fuston, Petway & French to serve as the board's legal counsel. That same resolution, however, failed last week during the meeting of the Committee of the Whole.

A failed resolution cannot be re-introduced to the board, some directors said, according to Robert's Rules of Order. An initial agenda distributed on Wednesday did not include the item, labeled Resolution 2018-21. However, it was listed on a second agenda distributed just prior to the start of the meeting.

After the meeting was called to order, long-time director Johnnye Lassiter asked: "How did [the resolution] get on agenda when failed [in committee] and did not pass?"

Cunningham responded by citing the authority's by-laws: "Article 2 of the by-laws state, 'No committee can take any action that is binding on the authority.'"

"That does not answer my question," Lassiter followed.

"It was placed on the agenda," Cunningham said.

As further discussion ensued, Lassiter left the room. When a voice vote on the resolution was requested, Cunningham agreed to delay it until Lassiter returned. When that took longer than expected, Walker, director Davis and Knutson were dispatched to discern if she was okay.

While they were gone, Cunningham moved on to other parts of the agenda but returned to the resolution before Lassiter and Davis returned, calling for a voice vote. It passed unanimously.

Before leaving the podium, Hill shared a saying he said his "grandaddy" always told him: "You cannot run a business on friendship, kinship or courtship. It creates favoritism."

It prompted a chorus of laughs and applause.