County Transit Out Of Control

Conflicts of Interest within the Various Charlevoix County Transit/Transportation Department(s)

First, it should be noted that there are different transportation departments and/or agencies listed on the Charlevoix County Government website. Listed among the various pages of the website are: Transit, County Transit, Charlevoix County Transit, Charlevoix County Transit System, Ironton Ferry, and Transportation Authority. It seems that they are listed under differing names and/or titles at various places on the website. There may be more, but so far, that is what I have found.

How the departments or titles differ, and the responsibilities of each, are rather ambiguous. An example of this is the fact that on the Charlevoix County Transit System Facebook page (supposedly to support the local on-demand public bus service), the “official” photo is the Ironton Ferry seal. The Ironton Ferry is a ferry service to cross the South arm of Lake Charlevoix. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Transit Authority, supposedly having nothing to do with county on-demand bus service.

The concerns herein are with positions held by Jill Drury, manager of the Charlevoix County Transit System, her husband John Drury, a lobbyist and consultant, and Cherie Browe, Charlevoix County Clerk, and whether they constitute conflicts of interest.

Jill Drury

• Manager of the Charlevoix County Transit System
• Charlevoix County Transit Oversight Board member
• MASSTrans board member
• MASSTrans Training Committee member

John Drury

• Principle of JDrury Consulting LLC, a lobbying and consulting firm
• Charlevoix County Transportation Authority Board member
• Executive Director of MassTrans, a public transit lobbying organization
• MASSTrans Board member

Cherie Browe

• Charlevoix County Clerk
• Charlevoix County Transit System Oversight Board member

Here are some of my concerns:

1. How is it not a conflict of interest for John Drury, the husband of Charlevoix County Transit System manager, to be in a position to lobby County, State and Federal agencies on behalf of various public transportation systems, and also sit on the Transit Authority Board?
2. If the purpose of the Transit Oversight Board is to oversee Charlevoix County Transit System operations, why are the county transit manager, Jill Drury, and the Charlevoix County Clerk, Cherie Browe, on the board?
3. How is it possible that Jill Drury is in a position to provide oversight of the county department she manages?
4. Why would the Charlevoix County Transit System manager, Jill Drury, be on the board of MASStrans, a public transportation lobbying organization?
5. Jill Drury is also on the MASSTrans Training Committee which plans the “small bus roadeos” for that organization. While listed as training exercises, they appear to be more bus driver competition, attended by few of the drivers. Why is Jill Drury allowed to mingle government and private sector duties?
6. How are the residents of Charlevoix County being served with such convoluted relationships?
7. Where does honest government begin and the conflicts of interest end?

The above relationships pertain only to the Charlevoix County departments of Transit and Transportation Authority by the parties listed. Any other relationships within county government by those same parties are not included herein.