MTA Fiscal Plan Gets OK From Federal Agency

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s recovery plan for putting its fiscal house in order received the backing of another federal agency Friday.

But, like a parent worried about a child continuing to improve on his grades, the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general recommended that Washington closely monitor the MTA’s progress in working out its financial problems.

“We couldn’t be happier,” said MTA Chief Executive Officer Julian Burke, noting that the inspector general praised the agency’s “significant progress.”

But citing “major risks” from financial uncertainties still facing the county transit agency, Inspector General Kenneth M. Mead also recommended that Congress ensure that the MTA allocates sufficient funds to complete the subway to North Hollywood and to implement court-ordered bus improvements.

“Considering the shortage of funds in MTA’s capital budget, fulfilling its commitment to the Alameda Corridor project could be a potential problem,” Mead said.

Burke expressed confidence that the MTA would keep its funding commitment to the Alameda Corridor, a railway designed to speed the flow of cargo between the ports and rail yards in Los Angeles.

The MTA chief said that although the agency still faces a projected $660-million shortfall over the next several years, he expects to reduce it by a “substantial amount” thanks to a new multiyear federal transportation funding bill.

The inspector general’s office becomes the third federal agency--after the Federal Transit Administration and the GAO--to complete its review of the MTA’s recovery plan.

The reviews were required before the federal government would release $61.5 million from this year’s federal budget for the Metro Rail subway project.