AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- A new report by City of Austin auditors details a conflict of interest involving Jacqueline Yaft, the former executive director of the city's aviation department and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Yaft, who began her role with the city in June 2019, resigned from her post as chief executive officer of AUS last month.
According to the auditor's report, Yaft participated in the approval process of at least four invoices from her previous employer, a consulting firm where she worked from October 2018 through May 2019, making a salary of roughly $200,000 annually. Under city code, because she made more than $5,000 in the previous calendar year, she had a "substantial interest" in the consulting firm.
The consulting firm became a city contractor the same month that Yaft began working for the city, although the decision to contract with the firm was made prior to Yaft's employment. According to the report, the firm was hired to provide subject matter expertise to the aviation department's executive team on airport development, planning, and project management, at a cost of $10 million over five years.
Despite guidance from city legal staff, the report alleges that Yaft signed and approved payment for three invoices under the firm's contract totaling $380,000, with an additional request for payment on a fourth invoice in March 2020 for $170,000.
The report says city legal staff also advised Yaft to file a disclosure report by July 1, 2019, in order to document the conflict of interest from her previous employer. However, Yaft failed to fill out that form until September 2022, and failed to tell her supervisor about the conflict.
A response from an attorney representing Yaft was included in the auditor's report. In the letter, Yaft disputes the findings of the auditor's office, saying the report “embodies a conclusion in search of a justification that is replete with inaccuracies and selective reporting.”
The auditor's report responds to Yaft's response, saying the letter "ignores City Code language" and "makes statements that are contradicted by the available evidence."
Assistant City Manager Robert Goode, in a statement, responded to the findings and noted Yaft's resignation, effective last month. “It is imperative that conflicts of interest be reported, and guidance be followed when conflicts of interest occur, to avoid even the suspicion of impropriety. We appreciate the diligence of the Office of the City Auditor in this investigative report."
Following Yaft's resignation in March, interim city manager Jesus Garza announced that former airport CEO Jim Smith will return to his previous post in an interim capacity.