MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Top executives at the Memphis Area Transit Authority knew about serious problems before announcing them.

MATA announced a $60-million shortfall last summer. It was a financial failure that didn’t happen overnight.

WREG Investigators uncovered hundreds of pages of emails from the fall of 2023 between MATA’s former chief financial officer and other executives.

In one email, they discussed vendors they were doing business with including a bus manufacturer and auto part retailer. MATA had outstanding balances with those companies. Thousands of dollars were past due.

In this email, a vendor even threatened to stop service until payment confirmation, a situation we’ve heard before.

A recent operations report reiterated MATA hasn’t been repairing vehicles, “because vendors have stopped servicing MATA due to nonpayment or excessive late payment.”

Records we obtained show last fall, MATA owed $10 million to 200 vendors.

“We are hoping to get many of these folks more current in the near future,” MATA’s new interim leadership told the council in April.

Other emails we found discussed the budget. The CFO at the time gave a breakdown to then-Deputy Chief Executive Officer Bacarra Mauldin explaining how MATA spends its operating budget. A majority going to salaries and wages, fringe benefits, and services. More than $1.5 million to miscellaneous items and rent.

A memo attached to one email stressed MATA must build up a $10 million cash reserve by cutting expenses and proposed $2 million cut to its expenses.

That same year, the MATA board approved a box suite at FedExForum, a lease in a downtown high rise for its C-Suite, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of furniture.

Plus, company credit card statements show thousands of dollars were spent on catering and dinners, and tens of thousands more on executive trips. Sometimes with large groups that included fancy dinners and entertainment.

Even though Mauldin was copied on many of these emails, she stressed in November, “I knew there were some financial challenges, but honestly, I had no idea the ride we were about to be on.”

Around the same time as these emails, MATA’s leadership claimed fewer riders hurt them financially. They tried to cut routes to save money while riders’ frustration grew louder with buses running late or not showing up at all.

“The the people are looking for a service, and you’re not giving them that service,” yelled one rider at a meeting held by MATA in October 2023.

MATA’s administration even complained in this email thread that the former mayor had boasted his administration increased MATA’s funding. They stated their records show he hadn’t increased funding much at all.

Their cries pointed to a bigger concern that still hasn’t been addressed.

In a city that’s 300 square miles where 50 percent of its customers use MATA primarily for work, transportation is vital.

Yet, past and current leaders agree the system hasn’t worked well. Memphis 3.0 calls for increased frequency and coverage and millions more in public transportation funding.

Other cities are investing more in their transit plans. Some are allotting millions, even billions of dollars.

Mayor Paul Young has admitted MATA’s funding isn’t where it needs to be, but he believes the public needs to see a concrete plan first..

“Great cities have great transportation systems,” he said in a past interview. “I want to have the plan for how it’s going to be dramatically better before we are advocating for providing a significant amount of funding to a system that is currently broken.”

So, it seems the same problems in the emails will continue to persist.

MATA’s board just approved the next operating budget at $59 million based on the mayor’s proposed budget.

That means no change in frequencies to the main lines, no change to MATA-plus, rubber-tire trolleys, and they won’t address the debt.

MATA’s board said it’s asked the council for an additional $15 million, so they can improve those things.

Some city council members are discussing holding a chunk of MATA’s funding until they get the results of a financial audit back. We’ll keep you posted on how this all plays out.