Photo: WBZ NewsRadio Staff
BOSTON (State House News Service) — MBTA officials warned of a "sobering" financial outlook for the agency but voted Thursday to jack up spending by nearly 7 percent in a $2.72 billion annual budget plan.
The T's fiscal 2024 budget relies on hundreds of millions of dollars in one-time funding and much of the roughly $175 million in new spending targets safety improvements ordered by the federal government, including efforts to build out the T's shorthanded workforce.
For every dollar in new spending, about 50 cents will go toward safety and training investments, said MBTA Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann O'Hara.
By the start of fiscal 2025, the MBTA is "going to need more money" beyond what Beacon Hill has already appropriated to continue addressing safety problems, she said, and the T will face a "big issue" that same year balancing its budget once the last batch of pandemic-era federal aid has been exhausted.
"Pretty sobering to see these numbers every time we see them," said MBTA Board member Thomas McGee, a former senator who co-chaired the Transportation Committee.
The Legislature every year steers substantial amounts of money to the T by dedicating a share of the state sales tax to the authority. The T also receives funds from the communities it serves and from fares, a revenue source that has sagged as the service-challenged agency has lost many of its riders.
Written by Chris Lisinski/SHNS
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok