Statement of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA
to the MTA Board on Procurement, MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, 20th Fl., NY, NY
October 24, 2018
Good morning, I’m Lisa Daglian, the new Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. Today’s Board Meeting agenda includes several procurement-related actions, making it timely to come back to the working group recommendations made several months back. In July, my colleague Ellyn Shannon spoke in support of the efforts to simplify, streamline, and expedite NYC Transit’s procurement process to improve competitiveness, cost and timeliness – key tenets of the Fast Forward plan. I am here to reiterate that message.
The urgency of finding sustainable funding sources for Fast Forward – and the entire system – is evident every day, with every delay and service disruption. Critical funding conversations are happening at legislative tables around New York, and hopefully we’ll see a path forward being forged in the coming months. We are glad to see the MTA is taking steps to implement its reform agenda to manage expenditures and processes.
NYC Transit has begun to reduce complex and lengthy procurement procedures as it implements Commissioner Moerdler’s Working Group recommendations and addresses the institutional issues over which it has control, at the same time it looks to gain control or achieve legislation over those which it does not. Continued implementation of Commissioner Rechler’s Working Group recommendations will drive down the price of capital projects by addressing key cost drivers and schedule delays, will demonstrate the serious commitment to change, and increase transparency and accountability. This is especially critical as we seek multiple, sustainable funding sources.
We look forward to implementation of these Working Group recommendations across each of the operating agencies, and across strategic plans: Transit’s Fast Forward; LIRR Forward and Metro-North’s Way Ahead.
As we are about to consider the next Capital Program, it is time to create a public dashboard to show stakeholders where the MTA is now, and as it implements the Working Group recommendations.
We look forward to working with you and all of our regional partners to help identify the sustainable funding the MTA system needs. We believe that implementing these recommendations will only help the conversation going forward. Thank you.
Download here: 102418 PCAC Procurement v2