The burden is on the FMCB to close the MBTA structural operating deficit and that will be a top FMCB priority between now and the next annual report. But even if the operating budget deficit is brought under control, the MBTA’s much greater capital investment needs will remain. The MBTA must increase its capital spending to bring the current system into a state of good repair, to meet critical safety and accessibility goals, and to improve system capacity. The FMCB is doing what it must to end the structural operating budget deficit, but the capital challenge is one the FMCB cannot achieve alone.
In both the operating and capital areas, a top FMCB goal for the next year will be to improve delivery systems throughout the MBTA so that both the Board and the public can be sure that rider and taxpayer dollars are being used wisely and efficiently. The FMCB will want every MBTA department to set a series of five- and ten-year goals toward which each department shall move in their annual operating strategies. By doing so, the FMCB will develop a clearer sense of the MBTA’s capital needs over the next 20 years, beyond achieving SGR.
For most of its first five months of existence, the FMCB faced the enormous task of grappling with the range and complexity of issues facing the MBTA. The Board has also had to react to immediate needs and unforeseen events, such as the Green Line Extension. In short, the FMCB has had to spend much of 2015 playing defense. In 2016, it will go on offense.
