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Board declines to place MTA governance charter amendment on November ballot; president announces immediate reform steps
Summary
After extended debate the Board of Supervisors voted not to place a Municipal Transportation Agency charter amendment on the November ballot and accepted a set of near‑term administrative reforms negotiated by the mayor— s office and MTA officials.
The Board of Supervisors declined to place a comprehensive Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) charter amendment on the November 2010 ballot and instead engaged with the mayor’s office and MTA leadership on immediate, administrative reforms.
What the board voted on: Two versions of the proposed charter amendment were before the board: one that included a "set‑aside" funding mechanism and a second draft that removed the set‑aside language. The board voted first on the original draft and then on the alternative version. Both measures failed to secure the votes required to submit a charter amendment to the ballot.
Vote results - Original charter amendment (item 55): Failed (roll call recorded in transcript; vote recorded 1 aye, 10 no). - Alternative charter amendment without a funding set‑aside (item 56): Failed to win majority support (recorded vote 5 ayes, 6 noes as recorded on the transcript).
Immediate agreement and reforms: During debate President David Chiu noted a parallel negotiation with the mayor’s office and MTA leadership and summarized a set of near‑term administrative reforms the parties agreed to pursue immediately rather than via a charter change. The president said the reforms included: - A plan for restoring in part the service hours cut in May 2010, with a report and timeline due by December 1 and further action in February; - Establishing a transportation governance task force by October 1 to examine institutional structures and advise on governance reforms; - Requiring written work‑order agreements by September 30 to clarify the MTA— s use of city departments and to improve oversight of services funded via work orders; and - A strengthened auditing/oversight role with a new director of audit compliance to coordinate with the Controller and to support regular performance audits of MTA divisions.
Arguments for and against - Supporters of the charter amendment (including Supervisors Campos, Mirkarimi and others) said charter change remains the most direct route to governance reform and an independent inspector‑general style audit function; they argued the board needed structural tools to prevent the MTA from acting as an off‑budget funding conduit and to institutionalize accountability. - Opponents, including President Chiu and others supportive of immediate administrative changes, argued the mayor’s office had offered practicable, quicker reforms and negotiated steps that could be put into place promptly and that sending multiple governance measures to the ballot risked confusing voters and jeopardizing other measures.
Procedural note: The board debated at length, and the votes on the two charter versions were recorded on the transcript. After the failures to place the charter amendments on the ballot, President Chiu described the negotiated administrative steps agreed between the mayor’s office, MTA staff, and board representatives.
What’s next: Supervisors said they will monitor the mayor’s and MTA’s implementation of the near‑term reforms and retain the option of returning to charter reform if the administrative steps prove insufficient.
