Senators Lash VI Taxicab Commission Again as Bill to Refine Duties of Executive Director Moves Forward

In an intense meeting on Wednesday, the Committee on Government Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection, chaired by Senator Carla Joseph, held a hearing focused on clarifying the role of the V.I. Taxicab Commission's executive director. The hearing highlighted ongoing operational issues, particularly related to the commission's board.

Vernice Gumbs, the executive director of the commission, faced questions during the committee meeting but her soft-spoken responses were deemed insufficient by Senator Joseph. Her health conditions, which have been ongoing since February, seemed to impact her ability to articulate her answers.

Gumbs' written testimony was read into the record at the start of the hearing. She expressed that a lack of involvement and poor job performance by employees had created challenges for her. She particularly singled out the poor performance of employees in the St. Thomas office. She claimed that these issues had caused an inefficient approvals process and revealed that the Commission was undergoing an audit from the Office of the Inspector General.

“Employees in the St. Croix office have consistently worked to ensure daily revenues are inputted into the GVI ERP system, maintained an updated medallion registry database, provided monthly reports, responded to complaints timely and issued citations etc,” she said. In contrast, “the employees in the St. Thomas office, which also services in St. John, have failed to maintain an accurate updated medallion registry database, ensure daily revenues were entered into the GVI ERP system and provide monthly reports. [They do not] respond to complaints timely, if all and issue citations.”