Gov. Baker appoints five-member board to oversee MBTA fiscal overhaul

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker appointed the five-member Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Fiscal Management and Control Board (FMCB) and designated Joe Aiello as chair immediately after signing into law the Fiscal Year 2016 budget.

A reform recommended by the Governor’s MBTA Special Panel following unprecedented winter weather that crippled service at the MBTA, the FMCB is set to begin working immediately, holding its first meeting on July 21.

“Fixing the MBTA will be a complex task, but moving forward with a FMCB dedicated solely to the T’s operations and finances is an important step toward delivering accountability for taxpayers and riders,” said Gov. Baker. “I want to thank the legislature for putting this board in place with other measures that will allow us to begin fixing the T. I especially want to thank the five talented individuals who have agreed to serve in this crucial capacity and who bring decades of combined experience and different but complementary perspectives as they get to work fixing the status quo at the MBTA and begin the process of delivering a world-class public transit system that the people of Massachusetts can be proud of and deserve.”

“By signing this bill into law we now have two crucial tools to begin fixing the MBTA, a dedicated group focused solely on the T and new tools that will allow the MBTA to operate more reliable services, repair critical infrastructure and explore more efficient ways to serve our riders,” said Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary Stephanie Pollack. “Board members will be meeting on Tuesday, along with the expanded MassDOT Board, for briefings that will help them quickly begin their work to get the MBTA back on track.”

Gov. Baker appointed a Special Panel in February to carry out an extensive analysis of the underlying functions of the MBTA’s governance, finances and capital planning, which became apparent throughout historic snowfall and persistent freezing temperatures earlier this year. Among the panel’s recommendations, were the call for a FMCB to assume control of the MBTA, a MassDOT Board of Directors, lifting of efficiency restrictions at the MBTA and a separation of the MBTA’s capital and operating budgets among a number of recommendations.

The MBTA FMCB will consist of five members, one with experience in transportation finance, one with experience in mass transit operations and three members of the MassDOT Board. Lisa Calise, Steve Poftak and Monica Tibbits-Nutt will also be serving roles on the MassDOT Board. The chair is appointed by the secretary of transportation.

Joseph Aiello (chair) is currently a partner and director of business development North America at Meridiam Infrastructure where he has worked since 2007, overseeing strategic development and investments in transportation, water and social infrastructure.

Lisa Calise is the chief financial officer at Watertown-based Perkins School for the Blind, focusing on global services and education for those living with blindness and deaf blindness.

Brian Lang currently serves as president of UNITE HERE Local 26, Boston’s hotel and food service union. Lang has spent a total of seventeen years representing the union’s 7,000 members, starting as organizing director and eventually being elected as president in 2011.

Steve Poftak is executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard Kennedy School. Poftak was director of research and director of the Center for Better Government at the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research.

Monica Tibbits-Nutt is the executive director of the 128 Business Council where she has worked since 2010, advising communities in the 128 Corridor in transit planning and overseeing the operation of 12 shuttle routes with nearly half a million in annual ridership. Tibbits-Nutt also has experience with the MBTA, where she served as a transportation planning consultant to the MBTA Advisory Board and as executive director and transportation planner for TransitWorks, providing research evaluation for the MBTA and Secretary of Transportation.