SWMO banker takes lead of MoDOT board

Last edited 3:46 p.m., March 7, 2012

Rudy Farber, chairman of the board for Neosho-based Community Bank and Trust, has been named chairman of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, the governing board of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Farber has been serving as vice chairman during the past year and was appointed to the commission in March 2007. His one-year term as chairman began March 1, according to a MoDOT news release.

Grace Nichols, of St. Charles, who has been serving as chairwoman during the past year, will serve a one-year term as vice chairwoman.

“Rudy and Grace are great folks and experienced leaders who have the best interest of Missourians at heart,” MoDOT Director Kevin Keith said in the release. “I look forward to working with them as we tackle some big challenges, most notably how we are going to fund transportation at the state and federal level for the long term.”

The commission is made up of six bipartisan members and works to govern MoDOT – as it builds and maintains the state highway system and supports other transportation modes in Missouri. Other commission members are Stephen Miller, of Kansas City; Joe Carmichael, of Springfield; and Kenneth Suelthaus, of St. Louis.

In June 2011, the Highways and Transportation Commission released its five-year plan calling for more than $500 million in system cuts by 2015, including nearly 1,200 jobs, or 19 percent of its staff, by mid-2013. By January, MoDOT's Southwest District office in Springfield was more than halfway through reducing its work force by 105, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. MoDOT spokesman Bob Edwards said the district office now is within 17 positions of hitting its target. He noted no layoffs have been made, but the roughly 88 people have either left, retired or moved to maintenance, where the district has openings.