Transit director resigns

Jeff Brune will stop worrying about the finances of a public transit agency and start helping individuals with their finances.

The executive director of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority will leave the post he has had for five years to become a financial representative with the Hahs Agency of the Northwest Mutual Financial Network, Brune said. His last day as director will be April 15.

Brune led the transformation of the transit authority from a weekday-only service in areas outside Cape Girardeau to a full-service mass transit provider operating a fixed-route bus system inside Cape Girardeau and 24-hour-a-day taxi service for all residents of the county.

"It is one of those bittersweet deals," Brune said. "I have been with the transit authority for five years and have seen it go from its infancy almost to adulthood. It has been exciting to be a part of that, and I am going to miss the people. But I have a growing family and it is a chance for me to achieve some personal and financial goals."

The transit authority board met in closed session Wednesday morning and accepted the resignation, according to a prepared statement issued early Wednesday afternoon.

"We wish him the best," board chairman Doug Richards said. "He left under good conditions. There is nothing negative between the board and Jeff and we totally respect his decision."

Brune told him of his plans last week, Richards said, and although an increase in his $47,000 annual salary was discussed, Brune would not change his mind.

The transit authority will continue to operate all of its present services, Richards said. The board will appoint an interim director for a three- to six-month period and begin a search for a permanent replacement, he said.

The interim leader won't necessarily come from the ranks of current employees, Richards said. "We are looking for someone with the organizational and people skills and the financial background to help conduct day-to-day operations."

The new permanent director will be hired after the job has been advertised through the region, Richards said. It is too early to say whether the salary level will remain the same, he added, because the duties may change. "We were a small operation, and now we are a huge operation," Richards said. "We may want to do an internal restructuring, and this would be the time to do it."

When Brune was hired in 2002, the authority operated on a $218,000 budget and provided 21,300 trips annually for clients. This year's budget is about $1.4 million and the authority expects to provide 99,680 trips by June 30, Brune said.

The biggest change occurred July 1, when the transit authority purchased the taxi business in Cape Girardeau that was operated by Kelley Transportation Inc. The $360,000 purchase combined public transit services in the county under one agency and paved the way for the six-day-a-week bus route that runs from downtown Cape Girardeau to the southern and western sections of the city.

A Cape Girardeau County native, Brune was hired in 2002 at a salary of $37,500. He had no experience running a transit service. Before taking the post, Brune, 33, had tried his hand at law school -- staying "long enough to learn I didn't want to be a lawyer" -- and at one time was a legislative aide to the county commission.

With a 2-year-old daughter and a second child due in October, Brune said the timing was right for his job switch.

"They approached me a long time ago when I first moved back," Brune said. "I have known the Hahs family all my life."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126