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Mass. Senate OKs Fiscal Control Board For MBTA


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 22 April 2015 - 01:55 PM

Boston Herald, 4/22:
 

Gov. Charlie Baker tightens control of MBTA
Board broomed, will roll out reform plan
 

Gov. Charlie Baker, poised to unveil his sweeping MBTA reforms today, has tightened his grip on the beleaguered transit agency, securing the resignations of the six Patrick administration appointees on the state transportation board and reining in the T’s interim boss after he went public with concerns about the governor’s plan.

 

Chairman John Jenkins, after some reluctance, stepped down from the MassDOT board yesterday, along with five other appointees of Gov. Deval Patrick — Dominic Blue, Joseph C. Bonfiglio, Robin Chase, Andrew Whittle and Janice Loux. That leaves only Baker’s transportation secretary, Stephanie Pollack, on the panel.

 

Baker also said he had a “clarifying” conversation with the interim T boss Frank DePaola after he had publicly raised concerns that the governor’s new board could undercut the regional approach to transportation the state took when it merged several agencies into what is now MassDOT.

 

“He was never not on board, let’s put it that way,” Baker said on Boston Herald Radio of DePaola, who took the reins of the T following former general manager Beverly Scott’s resignation.

 

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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 22 April 2015 - 01:59 PM

WBUR - NPR Boston, 4/22:
 

Gov. Baker Unveils Legislation To Overhaul MBTA

April 22, 2015  Updated April 22, 2015, 2:10 pm

 

BOSTON - Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled legislation Wednesday aimed at overhauling the state’s troubled transit system, proposing the creation of a five-member fiscal control board to oversee MBTA operations and finances for the next three years.

 

The bill closely follows recommendations made by a special advisory panel Baker created back in February after a series of severe snowstorms crippled the state’s transit system.

 

Baker said in a statement that the proposed legislation is needed to avoid repeating last winter’s problems.

 

 

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#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 23 April 2015 - 01:10 PM

Metro Magazine, 4/23:
 

Gov.'s MBTA legislation includes 3-year fiscal control board

 

BOSTON — Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker filed new MBTA reform legislation Wednesday, acting on many of the recommendations made by the special panel that reported their findings earlier this month. The legislation, An Act for a Reliable, Sustainable MBTA, would establish a Fiscal Management and Control Board (FMCB) and Chief Administrator to oversee operations and finances through 2018, create capital plans, introduce reporting and audit requirements and lift procurement restrictions for the MBTA. Together the FMCB and Chief Administrator would be charged with establishing a safe, reliable, financially sound and sustainable customer-oriented public transit system.

 

“This bill directly responds to the special panel's recommendations. We look forward to the Legislature's swift action on the reforms necessary to restore the public’s faith in the Commonwealth’s transit system,” said Governor Baker. “The T failed its stress test this winter when we needed it most, exposing the deep operational problems and lack of planning. We simply cannot afford a repeat and this legislation sets in motion significant reforms to once again deliver accountability, reliability and the world-class transportation system Massachusetts deserves.”

 

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#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 April 2015 - 01:09 PM

WCVB-TV (ABC) Boston, MA, 4/26:
 

Lawmakers reviewing Baker's MBTA plan
Transit system crippled by winter weather

 

BOSTON —Some lawmakers are expressing reservations about a key aspect of Gov. Charlie Baker's plan to overhaul the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

 

The Legislature's Transportation Committee on Monday will hear testimony from experts who were commissioned by Baker to investigate the Boston-area transit system after it was crippled by winter weather.

 

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#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 April 2015 - 01:18 PM

State House News Service via WBUR (NPR) Boston, 4/27:
 

Lawmakers Push MBTA Task Force For Specifics On Report


BOSTON Gov. Charlie Baker’s MBTA task force didn’t have time to “drill down” into the authority’s relationship with its new commuter rail system operator but did learn that the T and Keolis do not have a strong relationship, according to one task force member.

 

At a Transportation Committee hearing, lawmakers pressed task force members for data behind their conclusions about high absenteeism among T employees, failure to spend capital funds and the proposal to create a temporary MBTA control board.

 

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#6 CNJRoss

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Posted 03 May 2015 - 06:31 PM

Boston Herald, 4/28:
 

Carmen’s Union rips ‘foolish’ findings of Baker MBTA panel

 

The powerful Boston Carmen’s Union lashed out at key findings by Gov. Charlie Baker’s special MBTA panel yesterday, calling efforts to reform rampant absenteeism and unchecked arbitration “foolish” and “totally misplaced.”

 

The four-page missive 
Local 589 distributed to lawmakers at a transportation hearing — and obtained by the Herald — challenges the special panel’s scathing report that spotlighted widespread absenteeism and abuse of medical leave, and raised red flags over the plum perks MBTA unions score in binding arbitration.

 

It also offers a deeper look into the line of attack the 6,000-member union is using beyond its public comments, which to date have been centering on its opposition to lifting the protection labor unions enjoy under the so-called 
Pacheco Law — which imposes huge barriers on private contractors before they can perform work for a state agency.

 

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#7 CNJRoss

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Posted 07 May 2015 - 02:37 PM

CommonWealth Magazine, 5/5:

 

Scott: State should take over the MBTA       

 

Former general manager says it's the only path to accountability

 

“THE MBTA NEEDS to be put out of its misery.” That’s the diagnosis from Beverly Scott, the former general manager of the MBTA. The MBTA doesn’t need a fiscal and management control board or an expanded MassDOT board, she says. What the MBTA needs is a state takeover.

 

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said Tuesday that Gov. Charlie Baker’s special MBTA panel supported intervention over getting rid of the T. But for Scott, folding the MBTA into MassDOT would mean that the governor would be in control and accountable for the agency.

 

SNIP

 

CommonWealth tracked down Scott to get her perspective on how to get control of the bucking bronco that is the MBTA,  how the agency’s culture contributed to the system’s winter collapse, and her view of the MBTA special panel’s recommendations.

 

What follows is a condensed and edited transcript of our conversation.

 

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#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 08 May 2015 - 04:47 PM

MBTA news release:

 

 

MBTA LAUNCHES SPECIAL PANEL DATA WEBSITE

Start Date: 5/7/2015
 

BOSTON - Today, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority launched a designated webpage to make public data used by the MBTA Special Panel during its rapid diagnostic of the T's management, governance, finances, and capital spending.

 

"We are pleased the MBTA launched this website to provide the data used to inform the Panel's findings," said Governor Charlie Baker. "Understanding exactly what challenges our transit system faces is critical to implementing the reforms that will allow the Commonwealth to do better than the status quo, which clearly is not meeting the needs of the people and businesses that rely on the T. The data and the Panel's report shed light on why the system failed this winter and why the people deserve reforms now to overcome the fiscal and operational challenges at the T."

 

Following the historic winter's effects on the T's ability to operate, the Special Panel members undertook a six-week 'deep dive' into the structural challenges currently facing the T. The results were a series of short- and long-term findings and recommendations seeking to instill a stringent fiscal discipline into the T's finances, develop a governance system with stronger accountability, and address fundamental needs in system maintenance, state-of-good-repair projects, and capacity projects.

 

"Now that the Special Panel's work has concluded, we are turning our full attention to implementing its recommendations," said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. "We also want to ensure that people have full access to the data that the Panel used, as well as additional analysis that we are conducting. It's important that people understand the severity of the problems at the MBTA and the need for a Fiscal and Management Control Board to address those problems."

 

The MBTA will continue to add new and deeper analyses to the website as they become available.

 

The data can be found by visiting: http://www.mbta.com/...BTABackOnTrack/

 



#9 CNJRoss

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Posted 08 May 2015 - 04:52 PM

MBTA news release:

 

Governor Baker Announces New Appointments to Mass DOT Board

Start Date: 5/8/2015
 

BOSTON - Today, Governor Charlie Baker announced five new appointments to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The board, which includes Secretary Stephanie Pollack, currently oversees all MassDOT operations including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Highway, Mass Transit, Aeronautics, the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), Office of Planning and Programming and the Office of Performance Management and Innovation.

 

"These experts bring tested experience and knowledge in their respective fields and represent the fresh start needed to lead the Commonwealth's transportation initiatives," said Governor Baker. "From the Registry to our highways, this group is tasked with enormous responsibility. The MBTA panel uncovered monumental challenges in the aftermath of this harsh winter, and I look forward to this new board expanding and working alongside our proposed Fiscal Management and Control Board as we strive to do better than the status quo with our transit systems which left riders stranded and tax dollars squandered."

 

After a harsh winter that impaired the MBTA and disrupted public transportation for commuters, Governor Baker appointed a special panel of transportation leaders to take a deep dive into the structural problems with the T and deliver recommendations for short and long term plans to improve our transit system.

 

The panel recommended appointing a new Mass DOT board, expanding it to include 11 members, and establishing a Fiscal Management and Control Board (FMCB) along with a Chief Administrator to oversee operations and finances through 2018, create capital plans, introduce reporting and audit requirements and lift procurement restrictions for the MBTA. In late April, Governor Baker filed An Act for a Reliable, Sustainable MBTA, acting on many of the recommendations made by the special panel. Following the panel's findings, the Governor also requested and received the resignation for all Mass DOT board members, excluding Pollack.

 

The Mass DOT board is comprised of seven members who are all appointed by the Governor with one designated as the chair. Each member is required to fulfill a specific criteria with expertise in transportation, finance and engineering. The Secretary of Transportation also serves on the board. The Mass DOT board serves as the governing authority for both the Mass DOT and the MBTA and oversees the following: Highway, Mass Transit, Aeronautics, RMV, the Office of Planning and Programming and the Office of Performance Management and Innovation.

 

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#10 CNJRoss

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Posted 13 May 2015 - 12:40 PM

MassLive.com. 5/12:
 

MBTA fiscal control board plan rejected in Senate budget proposal

 

BOSTON - Leaders on transportation policy in the Massachusetts Senate are rejecting Gov. Charlie Baker's call for a fiscal management control board to take over operations of the MBTA.

 

"The control board would create a second bureaucracy and would separate the MBTA from what is the currently the Department of Transportation," said Sen. Thomas McGee, D-Lynn, chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation.

 

"We've been talking for years that we want to make one agency," McGee said. "By creating a control board that is a separate entity from the transportation system, it goes against the direction we've been going in for a along time."

 

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