MTA Bailout Coming Soon?
Could millions of riders be saved from doomsday due to a MTA Bailout? The answer is not completely known at this moment but the New York Daily News had a piece about a possible bailout in Saturday’s print edition. Glenn Blain & Pete Donohue have more in this report:
State legislation designed to rescue straphangers from massive service cuts and fare hikes could emerge in Albany as soon as Monday, sources said Friday.
If approved by the state Assembly and Senate, the plan not only could put the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on firmer financial ground – but also under new leadership.
The rescue plan, which proponents hope is finalized over the weekend, merges the MTA’s unsalaried, part-time chairman’s position with the full-time chief executive officer’s post.
And it’s unclear who would get that powerful top job.
MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger already has a lucrative full-time position running his family’s real estate conglomerate.
Transit advocates and some elected officials have praised current CEO Elliot Sander’s running of the bus, subway and commuter train network.
But Gov. Paterson may bring in a fresh face to declare a new era for an authority still struggling – fairly or not – with a negative image solidified over decades.
Click here for the complete report.
On the point of the possibility of a new leader for the MTA, Mayor Bloomberg voiced support on shaking up the management structure. However he did not state whether or not MTA CEO Elliot Sander should be fired. Kathleen Lucadamo of the New York Daily News has more in this report which appeared in Sunday’s print edition:
Mayor Bloomberg backed a plan to shake up management of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Saturday, but stopped short of saying its CEO, Elliot (Lee) Sander, should be canned.
Albany leaders are floating a rescue plan for the MTA based on the findings of former Chairman Richard Ravitch – and it calls for new leadership.
Click here for the complete report.
The possibility of a MTA bailout is exciting as they could sure use one. Yes, I could focus on how this should never have been necessary if our government properly funded them, but I’ll push that aside. As far as shaking up the management structure, I can support that if the right people are kept while saving money.
Speaking of the right people, I must say that any idea of replacing Elliot Sander should be abandoned. I feel he has done a great job during his short tenure at the MTA. He has been doing pretty well trying to dig an agency out of a mountain of debt & poor decisions/management.
For as good as he has done, he is no miracle worker. Replacing him with someone new would not help the recovery process go any faster. If anything, I feel it would slow it down. He like Barack Obama took over from leaders who left so many problems & little to work with in terms of solutions. He deserves the chance & time to turn things around. If after this time, he has not made significant progress, then & only then should be replaced. As far as I’m concerned, we are nowhere near that time.
xoxo Transit Blogger
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
A bailout would be great, shouldn’t have come to it but it did. As far as a replacement, Eliot Sander has done much more with a lot less than anyone in the recent past, even when there was money, nothing was being improved.