Baker: 'I do not want to privatize MBTA'
Presenting his MBTA reform plan to the Democrat-controlled Transportation Committee and an audience that included multiple union members, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday made clear what he does not want to do.
"I do not want to privatize the T. I do not want to slash services," Baker said, testifying about his plan to install a fiscal and management control board and free the transit agency from procedures required before state services can be privatized.
Snow and cold that ground rail service to a halt in places has given way to proposals for reform of the MBTA's management and finances, including a reform package filed by the governor.
Baker said he hopes to supplement the T with privatized service, and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack suggested areas that would be difficult or impossible under the current privatization requirements.
Pollack said she would not be able to convert the new late-night weekend train and bus service to smaller, private buses, and said there are questions about whether the T could contract for fare agents on the commuter rail.
Baker and a team of other state officials emphasized that the reforms they hoped to achieve would change management of the MBTA. The governor praised the workers, which included prisoners and National Guard troops, who cleared snow from tracks this winter.
"There's no question that people busted their humps," Baker said.
Baker, a Republican who won election promising to bring a "weed whacker" approach to state government, said he had counted on securing a fiscal and management control board when he appointed five new members to vacant seats on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Board of Directors last week.
Baker, who is also seeking to expand the size of the board and has a remaining vacancy to fill, said on Monday that he took a "calculated risk" and held off on appointing people to the MassDOT board whom he thought would be better suited to deal exclusively with the T on a yet-to-be-established control board.
Chris Gabrieli, a Democrat who now chairs the Board of Higher Education, discussed how a similar governance structure he headed up had helped right city finances in Springfield. Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash, who grew up in Chelsea before becoming city manager there, described how a state takeover helped that city.
Union officials have reacted forcefully against Baker's bill, which would grant the control board the authority to reject arbitrated union contracts, a bargaining power that is held by city councils around the state.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments