Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that board member Detric Leggett cast the sole opposition vote to removing Cutter.
By Eric Curl
June 25, 2025 – Chatham Area Transit was without a top administrator on Wednesday as the transit agency faces the state mandated budget deadline and reconfiguration of its board at the end of the month.
On Tuesday, the CAT board came out of a 2-hour executive session and voted 6-1 to remove Stephanie Cutter from the interim executive director/CEO position. There was no discussion of the vote prior to or after it was taken and the meeting was immediately ended.
June 24 CAT Board meeting (YouTube)
Board member Detric Leggett cast the sole opposition vote, while two board members, Mary Snowden and Marsha Buford, were absent.
Cutter, a former Savannah city manager, was appointed to the interim position after previous Executive Director/CEO Faye DiMassimo resigned about one year ago to work for the city. She will remain in her previous position as CAT’s chief financial officer, according to CAT spokesperson A’riel Johnson. Johnson said early Wednesday afternoon that the board did not yet select a replacement for the interim CEO position following Cutter’s removal.
The board also failed on Tuesday to approve the proposed 2025-2026 fiscal-year budget, which the state requires to be adopted by June 30, after a 4-4 vote split. Chairman Deidrick Cody joined Tabitha Odell, Bobby Lockett and John Taylor in opposing the spending plan, while Wayne Noha, Marsha Buford, Gertrude Robinson and Detric Leggett voted for the budget’s adoption. Snowden was not present for the vote.
The removal of Cutter and failure to pass the budget comes as Chatham County and several current members of the CAT board are suing to stop a new Georgia law that removes the board members from their positions and changes how the board is chosen, as reported on Sunday. The claim by the county and board members that the change is unconstitutional went before a superior court judge on Tuesday and is awaiting the court’s decision before July 1, when the legislation, House Bill 756, is set to take effect.
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