GOV. MAURA HEALEY is counting on a task force she created to come up with a plan for raising the additional tax revenue needed to get the MBTA on sound financial footing.
The task force is expected to meet later this month and issue a report by the end of the year. At a press conference Monday at North Station, Healey declined to get into a discussion of new taxes, but made clear her plans for the T depend on raising new revenue.
“I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals until I see things,” Healey said, referring to the task force report. “But what I’ll say is that I think as governor I have not been afraid to take this head-on and this administration is not going to be about kicking the can down the road, which frankly is what happened for far too long – years, decades.”
Healey said she intends to address a historic pattern of understaffing and under-investment at the MBTA. “Today, we’re about changing that,” she said. “We’re about restoring our legacy. We’re determined to lead once again with transit that makes life better, not worse.”
Healey’s budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins in July, provides additional money the T needs to address expected shortfalls in the operating budget. But in subsequent years MBTA deficits are expected to start rising steadily, hitting a peak of $859 million in fiscal 2029.
The T’s fiscal cliff is caused by spending that is increasing at a much faster rate than revenue, accelerating as more employees are hired under recently negotiated union contracts that pay a lot more. The T is currently forecasting 1 percent average annual revenue growth over the next five years, while expenses are expected to grow at nearly 5 percent.
Jarred Johnson, the chief operating officer of the advocacy group TransitMatters, appeared with Healey at the press conference and praised her focus on the MBTA. He said it’s understandable that she wouldn’t want to start talking about taxes now before the task force has even started its work. “If I was in a politician’s shoes, I might want to hedge until I’ve got all of the supporting materials,” he said.
But Johnson said TransitMatters believes tax revenues for transportation have to increase, and it’s up to the task force to recommend which ones the state should pursue. He said he favors broad-based taxes aimed at high-income residents and businesses as well as user fees.
Healey’s budget proposal also includes $45 million for the launch of a half-off fare on all MBTA services for residents between 25 and 64 who make less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. “They deserve a break,” she said. “We can deliver one.”
Asked about Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s decision to use federal funds to renew for another two years a fare free experiment on three MBTA bus routes, Healey said she welcomed the move but showed little interest in pursuing anything similar at the state level.
“It’s just about the dollars, what we can afford,” she said. “I think the question is what can you do statewide. When you sit in our shoes, you have to look at the reality of the operating budget and where revenue sits within that in terms of fares.”
She said a low-income fare isn’t the only possible approach to addressing transportation equity issues, but she said it makes the most sense for her administration. “I think it’s the one that we believe will cover the most people and do the most good,” she said.