BOSTON (SHNS) – The MBTA has been without its own dedicated governing panel for more than two months, General Manager Steve Poftak believes the life without a T board “hasn’t been an issue” so far.
While Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law on July 29 creating a new MBTA board of directors to succeed the now-expired Fiscal and Management Control Board, he has not appointed members to that panel and it has not started its work overseeing the T. Poftak, himself a former member of the FMCB, said Monday that summer months were often “a little bit quieter” during the previous board’s tenure of more than five years.
“In many cases, the board didn’t meet in perhaps July or August,” Poftak said. “I know work is underway following the legislation that was passed to select a new board, and we look forward to welcoming that board when they are named, but thus far, it has not caused a problem in terms of the internal operations of the team.”
Lawmakers and Baker allowed the FMCB to expire on June 30. Baker must select five of the new board’s seven members, including one from a trio of nominees offered by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. The transportation secretary, Jamey Tesler, will serve on the board as well.
The lone member not selected by Baker is already in place: the MBTA Advisory Board, an independent group representing cities and towns who steer their tax dollars to the T, this month tapped Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch to serve on the MBTA Board of Directors.
