‘Waste and bloat’ characterize MTA bureaucracy

Finally – finally – after a long Halt the Hike campaign that blended journalism and public advocacy reporting, the Daily News has produced a story that shows the deep-rooted institutional problems inherit in the MTA.

As part of a special I-Team investigation, Benjamin Lesser and Greg B. Smith report on rampant bureaucratic redundancy and overspending at the MTA. Through a FOIL request, Lesser and Smith delve into the Transportation Authority’s books and show what many thought all along: The MTA could use some paring down. Their topline summary breaks down nicely into bullet points:

• Instead of one president, there are eight – the MTA chief and seven agencies.
• Instead of one chief financial officer, there are six CFOs.
• Instead of a central staff, each agency has its own lawyers, auditors and payroll clerks.

The first point is a contentious one. The MTA asked the state legislature to allow for an internal restructuring to streamline the various agencies into one, but this request was denied. Otherwise, the Daily News article does not paint a flattering picture of the MTA’s internal structure. Look at the MTA’s legal eagles:

Take, for instance, lawyers: The MTA couldn’t fit all the lawyers it employs on a city bus. Dredging through last year’s records, The News found a total 112 lawyers with a $12 million payroll. Many of them are hidden in a sub agency practically no one has ever heard of: the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority. In that agency alone, The News found 35 lawyers.

There were 39 more at NYC Transit, 19 at MTA headquarters, 11 at the LIRR and eight at Metro-North. Even that was not enough. MTA headquarters has spent millions on outside counsel from some of New York’s most prestigious – and expensive – law firms.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. Lee Sander, the MTA’s CEO, gets a $60,000-a-year housing subsidy even though he lives in a $1.4 million house in Douglaston and owns three other New York properties. The heads of the LIRR and Metro-North both earn substantial housing subsidies despite similar residences.

For their part, the MTA says that they have someone on sight investigation the waste. “Over the long term, we believe that the MTA could see significant savings by centralizing many human resources and financial functions. To that end, we have begun to analyze the costs and benefits of a business services center,” MTA Spokesperson Aaron Donovan said.

But the report isn’t due until next year. Why not just use the information put forward by the Daily News? The world will never know.

After the jump, a full breakdown of some of the other problems identified in the article. My favorite expense is the bathroom attendant program. Talk about a useful program.

• MTA CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION: Division was formed in 2003 to handle big construction projects, like the Second Ave. line and the expansion of the 7 line. It employs 68 – by next year that number is expected to rise to 150. There are 640-plus employees already working on capital projects at other agencies who pocket $38 million in salaries.
• BATHROOM ATTENDANTS: There are 21 bathroom attendants at Grand Central making $16,270 to $53,867 a year. Says Metro-North: “700,000 pass through each day, 10,000 meals are sold and they all have to pee.”
• CHAUFFEURS: Sometimes the MTA isn’t sure who does what. There are four chauffeurs on the LIRR human resources payroll. The LIRR says the drivers, who make a combined $243,000, move mail to different facilities. The MTA says they drive “crews of workers to various job sites as needed.”
• COUNTERTERRORISM: Last year, five years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the agency expanded its counterterror management from one interagency security liaison who made $55,347 to an entire office called the Director of Interagency Preparedness run by a former FBI agent with five underlings. Total payroll: $372,181.