Time to toss VTA board? Bill would overhaul [Santa Clara] transit agency in ‘crisis’

Current VTA board lacks time or expertise to hold agency accountable, lawmaker says

Blog note: This article refers to a 2019 Santa Clara County grand jury report.

Spurred by a scathing report that called the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority “one of the most expensive and least efficient transit systems in the country,” a South Bay lawmaker is taking action to overhaul the agency’s board.

Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Los Altos, introduced legislation Thursday that would scrap the current VTA board — an 18-member body made up of local elected officials who critics say lack the expertise or time to adequately oversee the authority — and replace it with appointed members of the public with experience in transportation, finance and other fields related to running an agency.

Berman says the overhaul would create a more effective board that holds VTA accountable and steers it in the right direction.

“There is a big problem that needs to be addressed,” Berman said. “VTA needs a board that is really focused on the governance of the transportation authority.”

Berman’s action is in response to a 2019 civil grand jury report that identified the agency’s governing board as a core problem in need of structural change.

A long list of responsibilities falls under VTA’s purview — along with running a bus and light rail network, the authority is also the county’s congestion management agency, meaning it oversees South Bay highways. And VTA is building the $6.9 billion extension of BART service through downtown San Jose, the largest infrastructure project in Santa Clara County’s history and one beset by delays and mounting costs.

But state law requires that VTA’s board of directors be made up of South Bay politicians. The grand jury report found those mayors, county supervisors and others in many cases regard running the authority as a lower priority compared to their primary office and other responsibilities.

“It’s just impossible for most council members to be able to do all of those things 100 percent — but VTA needs that,” Berman said.

VTA officials said their board is already considering changes to its structure following the grand jury report, but said the current setup “has proven beneficial” because directors have authority both in transportation and land use.

“VTA looks forward to suggestions that will improve the delivery of transit and transportation projects for the people of Santa Clara County and our region,” authority spokesman Ken Blackstone said.

The grand jury report concluded the board has contributed to a “crisis” at VTA, with high operating costs and low ridership driving large deficits even before COVID-19 send public transportation ridership into a downward spiral. Two other grand jury reports in recent decades have drawn similar conclusions about the board.

Berman’s legislation, AB1091, would bar people who hold other elected office from serving on the VTA board. It would shrink the board’s size as well — from 12 voting directors, plus six alternates, to just nine members.

Mercury News
NICO SAVIDGE
Bay Area News Group
February 18, 2021