A former MARTA official has been placed on leave from his new job in Florida because of a whistleblower’s complaint.
Ben Limmer was MARTA's assistant general manager until last winter, when he left to become CEO of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. On Monday the Tampa Bay Times reported the Florida board voted to place Limmer on paid leave while it investigates a whistleblower's complaint about an unspecified purchasing issue.
“The board received a letter Friday evening that can only be characterized as a whistleblower alleging improper conduct on behalf of the CEO in respect to procurement processes, vendor relations and related matters,” agency attorney David Smith said Monday, according to the newspaper.
Agency officials said they could not elaborate on the allegations.
“Again, as Mr. Limmer departs, I reiterate nothing has been proven," Smith said, according to the newspaper. "These are merely allegations at this juncture. We would not want to injure anyone’s reputation, and nor will we do so.”
Limmer joined MARTA in 2016 to oversee its planning and development initiatives. Among other things, he played a key role in the roll out of the More MARTA project list last year.
You can read more about his problems in Florida here.
