MIAMI-DADE COUNTY CHAIRMAN JOE A. MARTINEZ District 11 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2011 For Chairman Martinez Office: Arleen Gomez, 305-375-5511 or 305-496-2102 For County Manager Hudak's Office: Suzy Trutie, 305-375-1545 or 786-367-7666 Miami-Dade County secures FTA funds for Miami-Dade Transit Department MIAMI, Fl - Today, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter M. Rogoff informed Miami-Dade Board of County Commission Chairman Joe A. Martinez that next week the FTA will be releasing $65 million to Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) in federal reimbursements, and will reevaluate the process by which the MDT Department may resume restricted drawdown of federal funds. The details will be made available next week in a formal letter to be sent by the FTA. The announcement came on the heels of a visit by Miami-Dade Board of County Commission Chairman Joe A. Martinez and Miami-Dade County Manager Alina T. Hudak's to high-ranking FTA officials in Washington D.C., where County officials expressed the urgency of having the federal funds reinstated, and assured the FTA that MDT is addressing all areas of concern pointed out by the FTA, including those with the department's financial and procurement processes. "For thousands of residents, Miami-Dade Transit is the only means by which to commute and it is my responsibility to make certain these services aren't affected." said Chairman Martinez. "The release of these funds comes at a crucial moment for our County and while the process towards full drawdown privileges is long and tedious, I am confident Miami-Dade County will continue taking the necessary steps to achieve that goal." "We will continue making a compelling case to FTA and facilitating them with any and all information they require in order to have all necessary funding reinstated." Since September 2010, when the FTA suspended the department's drawdown privileges, financial experts from various County departments, including staff from Finance and the Office of Strategic Business Management, have been laboriously working with MDT staff to address the FTA's concerns, particularly those that pointed to the department's lack of financial controls. "Our staff has been working arduously to have our federal funds reinstated. And while we still have a long road ahead of us for full restoration of our federal funding, the release of these funds is setting us on the right path to begin restoring the FTA's confidence in our processes, demonstrating that we are diligently watching how our local, state and federal dollars are spent," Hudak said. Assistant County Manager, Ysela Llort, who was appointed in April 2011 to oversee the department's daily operations while a new Transit director is appointed, said she credits Chairman Martinez and Ms. Hudak for their leadership. "With our new processes in place, it's important for the FTA, and our community, to know that we are doing all we can to be good stewards of our federal, state and local funds. Every penny we receive counts, and with our new standard operating procedures, we hope to demonstrate, even more clearly now, that this money is being managed and spent responsibly," Llort said. ###