Res. No. 1567
Resolution calling upon the New York State Comptroller to grant shared authority to the New York City Comptroller for purposes of auditing the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
By Council Members Halloran, James, Koo, Rose, Williams, Fidler, Nelson, Rodriguez, Rivera and Oddo
Whereas, The great majority of riders who use the Metropolitan Transit Authority ("MTA") for transportation are New York City residents; and
Whereas, The MTA suffers from significant budgetary problems, including $32 billion in outstanding long-term debt and a history of operating shortfalls numbering in the hundreds of millions of dollars; and
Whereas, Due to the above stated budget gaps, the MTA has raised fares three times in the last four years, made significant cuts in service, particularly in New York City, and is planning to raise fares by 14 percent over the next 3 years; and
Whereas, In 2010 the New York State Comptroller ("NYS Comptroller") published its annual audit of the MTA, which found significant abuses in the use of overtime, and identified $56 million in annual savings if unnecessary overtime were cut; and
Whereas, Despite the fact that this audit noted that overtime abuses at the MTA had persisted for years, such abuses were only discovered in 2010, even though the NYS Comptroller is required by law to conduct audits of the MTA on an annual basis; and
Whereas, This is an indication that greater resources are required to oversee the MTA properly, thus ensuring that wasteful practices are identified and corrected at the outset, and thereby reducing the need to raise fares; and
Whereas, The NYS Comptroller can leverage these additional resources from the New York City Comptroller ("NYC Comptroller") by granting the NYC Comptroller authority to audit the MTA; and
Whereas, Granting audit authority to the NYC Comptroller would also ensure that the MTA is more accountable to New York City residents; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Comptroller to grant shared authority to the New York City Comptroller for purposes of auditing the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
AM
LS #1265
11/8/2012