Transit Officials Under Fire Over Budgeting
Los Angeles City Council members blasted county transit officials Friday for failing to follow proper procedures in budgeting money for the San Fernando Valley.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s inspector general recently found the agency had failed to follow procedures under which all Valley transit money should have been set aside in a special fund.
The amount promised for building the Red Line subway to North Hollywood was in fact spent on the project, according to the report.
“They say that the money was spent appropriately, but the process was deeply flawed,” Councilwoman Laura Chick said.
Councilman Hal Bernson said an MTA report found that only part of the money spent in the Valley had been deposited in a special trust fund aimed at making sure principal and interest are reserved for Valley transit.
“The result was OK. The Valley did get the money as far as it went, to North Hollywood,” Bernson said. “The problem was the procedure.”
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