Taxicab Commission Board Taps New Leadership for its Executive Office

There is new leadership at the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission. Vernice Gumbs was terminated on Thursday after serving as executive director for close to two-and-a-half years.

The decision came during a scheduled meeting of the commission’s board; in a statement made after the meeting, board Chair Elizabeth Watley said that board members wanted to move in a new direction. At the same meeting, they chose Melissa Smith to serve as acting director.

Smith came to the Taxicab Commission to work in the office as a borrowed employee, said board Secretary Myrna George. Her duties in the leadership post began on Friday.

Gumbs — who rose from assistant director to executive director in September 2022 — was quoted in an online news story as saying she intended to challenge the board’s decision.