Pa. auditor general issues call for speedy DRPA reform

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner, who is a commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority, is urging a faster pace of reform at the DRPA.

In a letter this week to DRPA chief executive John Matheussen, Wagner said new policies adopted in 2010 must be implemented soon.

And Wagner pointedly told Matheussen that he expected the DRPA chief to make sure new inspector general Thomas Raftery "has both the independence and the resources" to pursue waste, fraud, and abuse of authority at the agency.

Matheussen has been advocating that Raftery report to him rather than to the DRPA commissioners.

Last month, Raftery reported that many of the policy changes adopted in 2010 have not been translated into daily practice.

Rules about ethics, political contributions, contracts, and purchasing have not been incorporated into the DRPA's bylaws and standard operating procedures, Raftery found.

Matheussen said at the DRPA's monthly meeting last week that he would make the 2010 reforms his "top priority."

Wagner, in his letter, echoed a request by fellow Commissioner David Simon that Matheussen provide by the July 18 board meeting "a detailed plan for addressing this important issue."

DRPA spokesman Timothy Ireland, who has been named to head the reform-implementation effort, said a plan would be in place by July 18.