Comptroller, Question 5

Question 5:
The MTA's $6 billion preliminary budget for 2010 will be issued in late July and approved in December. Have you reviewed this budget and, if so, do you see additional ways for the MTA to save money or any inappropriate cutbacks?
  • Comptroller Survey: stuartjavrick

    I have not reviewed the budjet. The MTA is a State agencyI am runningfor NY City Comptroller. Any ways that come to my attention to save money would be passed on the appropriate Agency

  • Comptroller Survey: David Yassky

    Yes, and I believe long-term changes must be made to allow the MTA to rebuild our aging infrastructure in a way that is sustainable for the 21st and beyond.

    I will fight for a vigilant audit of the Authority’s capital assets. On the Council, I have advocated for the selling-off of excess properties such as the one at 370 Jay Street in my district in order to fill budget shortfalls. This is critical in assessing the true value of the Authority’s properties and will allow for a more accurate understanding of the its fiscal health.

    Expenses:
    I would maintain a strict focus on the financial state of the MTA to prevent a fractured, politicized, or otherwise undisciplined regime change that might result in the disruption of expenditure cuts, as it undergoes transition in executive management.

    I would invest City funds in green technology to incentivize increased innovation and competition that would greatly enhance the MTA’s ability to incorporate them, saving huge costs in the long-term. Meanwhile, these high growth industry investments would provide returns for City funds.

    Revenue:
    A few hundred million dollars are needed annual to cover the gap in coming years. With annual revenue estimates of $450 million, congestion pricing can directly counter this.

  • Comptroller Survey: Joseph Mendola

    I have reviewed the budget. I support full funding of the Second Avenue Subway and the #7 train extension (with the 40th Street station). I believe however that there is much waste in the budget that can be cut.

  • Comptroller Survey: John C. Liu

    I have reviewed the MTA’s 2010 preliminary budget and two areas that jump out to me are the projected almost doubling in the cost of Access-a-Ride by 2013 and the 16% of the budget that goes towards debt service.

    In terms of cuts, I think it is troubling that the MTA is making major cuts to its maintenance program. As someone who grew up in New York City during, probably one of the worst times in the MTA’s history, the 1970s, I remember the graffiti and filth on the trains and how that discouraged many people from riding transit. When people ride the subways, they still expect some basic levels of cleanliness and service. I think it would be a big mistake for the MTA to believe that they can let cleanliness and other maintenance decline and still expect people to ride the subways in record numbers.