Governor Charlie Baker signed off late Thursday on a one-year extension of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, keeping the agency’s oversight panel in place through the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic — and what will likely be a difficult series of financial decisions in the virus’s wake.
The board’s five-year term had briefly lapsed after expiring at the end of June. But last week, negotiators with the House and Senate announced that they would extend the term another year after running out of time to find a longer-term solution. The House wanted to keep the current board in place while adding two new seats, but the Senate sought a new board with more independence from the governor. The two sides will now have another year to reach an agreement.
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In the meantime, some transit advocates said the one-year extension was the right move, especially considering the pandemic and the uncertainty it presents for public transit service and finances. The control board was established during a different kind of crisis, following the epic snowfall of 2015, and has provided some semblance of stability at an agency that has seen several changes in leadership since that time.
“Now was simply not the time to let the T board dissolve, and the legislature clearly recognized that fact,” Staci Rubin of the Conservation Law Foundation said in a statement.
Whether the members of the current board plan to stick around remains to be seen; some have joked for months that they looked forward to being “on the beach” when they thought the term would end this summer. Others have been evasive when asked if they would continue in the roles if asked to do so. Unlike some state oversight boards, the T’s meets several times a month, usually for hours at a time, and the positions are unpaid.
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One member, Brian Shortsleeve, has already said he would not serve any longer. Rubin and other advocates on Thursday said it was important for Baker, who appoints the board members, to select a daily T rider to fill that seat going forward. Baker has indicated he wants a member to specialize in transit safety after an outside report in 2019 found the MBTA lacking in that area, but his office had no details to share about a possible replacement Thursday.
The House and Senate agreement that Baker signed Thursday also allocates $200 million for local road funding, on par with most recent years, even though both chambers had separately passed prior bills that would have increased spending for $300 million.
But House leaders indicated they would not support the increase to $300 million if the Senate did not agree to increase transportation revenue to pay for it, such as through a gas-tax increase like the House passed in a March vote that also would increase ride-hail fees and corporate taxes. Despite pressure from House members and transit advocates, the Senate has not committed to a gas-tax vote, citing the pandemic’s economic fallout.
Adam Vaccaro can be reached at adam.vaccaro@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @adamtvaccaro.
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