MARTA paid $455,609 in severance pay and benefits to then-General Manager Richard J. McCrillis last year, when the transit agency's board fired him about midway through his contract to make way for a new leader.

That is well above the $250,000 in severance pay plus benefits MARTA officials floated when they announced the change last year.

A 22-year veteran, McCrillis was entitled to most of that pay under the terms of his two-year contract to run the organization. But the taxpayer-funded transit agency gave him $34,550 extra as part of an agreement he signed not to badmouth or sue the organization, according to records obtained under Georgia's Open Records Act. That agreement also prohibited McCrillis from talking about it except as required by law.

Further, less than a month after offering his job to current General Manager Beverly Scott, the board gave McCrillis a $25,000 raise —- to $275,000 —- and a $22,500 performance bonus.

McCrillis, who was entitled to be considered for annual raises and bonuses under his contract, had received many glowing performance reviews from MARTA, according to his personnel file.

Also among McCrillis' payout was $102,559 in cash for roughly 90 days of unused paid time off —- including vacation and sick leave —- he had accumulated during his career, MARTA general counsel Charles Pursley said.

In all, MARTA paid McCrillis $775,342 in salary, severance pay and benefits in 2007.

Last month, MARTA's board approved an annual budget that leaves the transit agency with a $43 million deficit and plans to cut staff. The average salary for a full-time MARTA employee was about $43,000 in 2007, according to agency payroll records.

About 180 positions throughout MARTA —- roughly half of which were unfilled —- are being eliminated as part of the budget shortfall.

MARTA officials blamed the deficit on inflation and declining sales tax revenues, the largest source of revenue for the transit agency.

Jill Chambers (R-DeKalb County), chairwoman of the state Legislature's MARTA oversight committee, said the board's actions make her want to probe more of its spending.

"If the board is going to be that free-spending with the taxpayers' money —- and now they are showing they have got a big deficit —- I think we probably need to start digging in closer to some of their other spending habits as well," Chambers said.

Walter Kimbrough, who signed the $34,550 settlement agreement with McCrillis as chairman of the board last year, referred questions to the current chairman, Michael Walls.

"I was not really a part of any of those negotiations at all, but in my real life I am a labor lawyer, and I can tell you that goes into every situation where. . . somebody is leaving employment," Walls said of some of the contents of the agreement with McCrillis. "That is just as routine as you can get."

Hollie Manheimer, executive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, offered a different view after reviewing state law.

"Settlement agreements with a public agency may not be kept confidential," Manheimer said. "The point of the Open Records Act is to allow citizens to monitor their public officials. Expenditure of public money is an area of keen interest to taxpayers."

Walls said the board voted to replace McCrillis, 62, last fall because McCrillis planned to retire at the end of his contract.

Plus, Scott, who has more than 30 years' experience in the transit industry, was in the market for a new job and MARTA wanted to hire her before someone else could.

At the time, Scott, who then worked in Sacramento, was a finalist to lead the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the San Francisco area, Walls said.

"She is one of the stars of the industry and we feel really lucky to get her," Walls said.

MARTA's board signed a five-year contract with Scott on Sept. 28, giving her a $300,000 salary.

McCrillis said he is proud of the work he did for MARTA and was upset by the board's decision to end his contract early.

"I was disappointed and kind of shocked at it," he said. "But, on the other hand, if someone is willing to pay you to walk away, then it is a little tough to say no, if they don't want you to stay."

Staff writer Megan Clarke contributed to this article.

PAID IN FULL

MARTA paid then-General Manager Richard J. McCrillis $455,609 in severance pay and benefits last year when he was fired and replaced by Beverly Scott.

$318,500: Salary plus benefits for second year of contract

$102,559: Cash for unused paid time off, including vacation and sick leave

$34,550: Negotiated settlement