Members of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority finance committee reviewed gaps in quarterly project reporting, discussed the authority’s statutory duty to monitor certain local transit funding levels and voted to refer a policy proposal on accessing the authority’s working capital reserve to the Technical Advisory Committee for study.

Staff explained that jurisdiction reimbursement requests currently include vendor and contractor invoices but do not consistently include the quarterly project reports (project schedule updates, a standardized cash‑flow summary and a project summary) that the standard project agreements require. "Quarterly reports are not currently being submitted for projects that are operating under a SPA," Executive Director Chet Parsons told the committee. Parsons recommended work with the TAC to design a reporting format that gives the committee useful schedule and cash‑flow information without creating a heavy administrative burden for localities.

Committee members also discussed a provision in the statute that prohibits a locality from reducing its own funding for public transit by more than 50% relative to amounts appropriated as of July 1, 2019. General Counsel Eric Gregory said that language is statutory and that changing it would require action by the General Assembly. Gregory and other members noted that the CVTA's primary compliance tools are reporting, certification and audits; enforcement beyond that would require legislative change.

On a formal motion the committee voted to refer development of a policy for accessing the working capital reserve to the TAC for study and recommendations. The motion passed on a voice vote; no roll-call tally was taken. The committee also approved the minutes of the Dec. 11, 2024 finance committee meeting earlier in the session.

TAC representative Miss Smith said the TAC itself will discuss candidate projects for the regional set‑aside of interest earnings (the committee had previously set $5 million aside for regional projects) when TAC meets in the spring. Finance staff said they expect to work with TAC to define the quarterly project reporting format and to return to the finance committee with recommended language and formats.