Official Recently Hired by RTD Will Be Temporary Chief

Alan F. Pegg, the RTD’s recently hired 42-year-old treasurer-controller, was selected Thursday to temporarily run the troubled agency after transit chief John Dyer steps down at the end of the month.

The selection of Pegg after a three-hour, closed-door board meeting signals the desire of board members to make a break with the tumultuous last two years under Dyer’s leadership--a period marked by reports of alleged bus safety problems, wasteful spending and poor service, as well as a legislative effort to abolish the district.

Pegg, a quiet, steely bureaucrat with a background in finance and accounting, has been with the district just six months. He is expected to be a low-profile manager over the next 60 to 90 days while the board seeks a permanent replacement for Dyer, who announced his resignation late last year amid continuing public controversy over his management. Dyer is paid $119,000 a year.

Board Vice President Carmen Estrada said “two very strong factors” in choosing Pegg, a former finance director for Chicago’s METRA commuter rail system, were that he represents a fresh start and has a background in finance. She noted that one of Pegg’s first chores will be to help the board decide how to erase a projected $12-million deficit in this year’s budget and a $36-million deficit in next year’s budget.

“We trust in Mr. Pegg’s ability to help us,” she said.

Pegg offered no new proposals for reorganizing or reforming the $510-million-a-year transit district. But he also said that he does not intend to be a mere caretaker and will seek the permanent general manager’s job. Describing the district as “an enormously complex organization,” Pegg said he will assess the operation with the help of “a number of competent people reporting to me.”

By selecting Pegg, the board passed over a number of RTD top executives who have been at the district longer, but were closely associated with the controversial Dyer. Pegg will earn less than Dyer, although the exact salary has not been set, Estrada said.

Dyer, who came to Los Angeles from Miami in 1981, was credited with delivering federal funding for the $3.8-billion Metro Rail project, but criticized for ignoring the bus system. He has declined to discuss his plans after he leaves the district Jan. 31. The speculation has been that Dyer, who holds a doctorate in public administration, will return to teaching or become a consultant.

Meanwhile, the RTD board is stepping up its search for a permanent general manager--a choice viewed as crucial to rebuilding public confidence in the district.

No formal list of candidates has been given to the board by its executive search firm, Korn Ferry International. But one name repeatedly mentioned is Alan Kiepper, transit chief of Houston who has been credited with greatly improving that city’s all-bus system in recent years.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Kiepper acknowledged he has been contacted by Korn Ferry and said he has “not ruled out” applying for the Los Angeles job. But he stressed he is not actively seeking new employment, particularly since Houston voters just last Saturday approved a $2.5-billion commuter rail, bus and highway construction program.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn is among those promoting Kiepper.