by Jose Fermoso : Oaklandside – except

Ward 3 Director Sarah Syed said other board directors approved the agreement in a closed session to avoid public scrutiny.

AC Transit Ward 3 Director Sarah Syed, speaking at the agency’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday, accused her fellow directors of approving an expensive “sweetheart” settlement deal for the outgoing general manager, Michael Hursh.

Syed said the agreement has Hursh staying on as a senior adviser with a complete “executive CEO” salary and benefits but no work expectations.

According to Transparent California, the state’s public pay and pension database, Hursh made $556,045 in 2022, the last year his information is available.

“The deal allows the General Manager to seek and accept other employment without restriction,” Syed wrote in her statement, which she read in full at the board meeting “At a time when we should be earning the public’s trust to save our agency from the fiscal cliff, this sweetheart deal is a colossal misjudgment.”

Syed accused other directors of violating the state’s Brown Act, a law mandating open government meetings, by voting for this agreement in a closed session from which she was excluded. … (more)