Charlotte council work group outlines rules for Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority appointments; council defers final process

Charlotte City Council members spent a large portion of their Monday meeting reviewing the process for filling the city27s 12 appointments to the proposed Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority (MPTA) board and agreed to delay formalizing the final selection process until the following week.

Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox walked the council through the state PAVE Act27s requirements, including statutory limits and eligibility rules, and said the city must follow the act27s detailed guidance on composition and qualifications. "Any applicant must be a resident of Mecklenburg County," Fox said, and he noted the statute bars current elected officials and lobbyists from serving and requires trustees to have demonstrated experience in enumerated fields such as law, finance, engineering, public transportation, urban planning, logistics, government, architecture or economic development. He also described a statutory definition of "public transportation" that includes buses, rail, high-occupancy vehicles and certain microtransit programs.

The volunteer work group that the council appointed to screen applicants recommended a schedule of interviews and scoring. The group proposed 25-minute interview slots (20 minutes Q&A, five minutes…