A Message from Matt Thomas, Board Treasurer 

October 28, 2021


To the Capital Area Transit System Board of Commissioners and Stakeholders:

A report yesterday evening by WBRZ stated that CATS CEO Bill Deville accepted payment for a car allowance covering a period after the agency ceased that policy in May 2019. To be clear, WBRZ incorrectly classified a payment that was entirely legitimate.

In fact, the one-time payment made in 2020 was the result of previous contractually agreed upon expenses from 2016-2019 that, due to a system error, simply had not been paid during the time they accrued.

Once the underpayment was identified, CATS issued a one-time payment that was added to his normal paycheck. It is not uncommon for paychecks to reflect allowable, one-time reimbursements in these types of situations.

To reiterate – no CATS employees, including the CEO, were paid a car allowance for any period after May 2019, and the payment made in 2020 was completely appropriate.

It’s disappointing that WBRZ also continues to rehash the claim of missing funds that has already been addressed in my previous statement. If the media insists on repeating errors, we will repeat the truths.

An extensive audit by Postlethwaite and Netterville found that no improper financial management occurred, and all expenditures and revenue is accounted for.

It is my intent to correct incorrect assumptions and rumors with the truth as our financial records indicate.

Parry “Matt” Thomas

Capital Area Transit System Board of Commissioners, Treasurer