Op‑ed: BART spending underperforming
A Washington Post op‑ed argued Bay Area taxpayers aren’t getting good value for their BART spending and warned of looming service cuts despite rising government investment argued. The piece highlights pressure points for public‑sector and P3 boards around transparent budgeting and audit‑grade oversight.
The BART board voted 8–1 (cbsnews.com) to approve an "Alternative Service Plan" that includes closing up to 15 of the system’s roughly 50 stations beginning in the second half of 2027 (sfgate.com). Board briefings show a projected operating shortfall of about $367 million for FY27 under current assumptions (pleasantonweekly.com), while regional leaders are discussing a roughly $1 billion‑per‑year sales‑tax package to backstop multiple transit agencies and BART warns federal/state pandemic relief funds used for operations will expire in 2026 (sfgate.com). State lawmakers cleared SB 63 to let voters consider a November 2026 regional sales‑tax measure structured as a 14‑year levy with approximately 60% of revenue dedicated to preserving service for BART and partner agencies (mtc.ca.gov). The BART Office of the Inspector General issued multiple 2025 audits — including "Overtime Risks" (June 13, 2025), "Construction Contract Change Orders" (Nov. 6, 2025) and a "Link21" performance audit (Dec. 19, 2025) — that flag overtime, change‑order and program management weaknesses (bartoig.org). BART’s governance framework assigns oversight of the OIG, Controller‑Treasurer and Performance & Budget functions to the Board’s Audit Committee (bart.gov), and the FY26 adopted budget memo lists Mark Foley as Board President and Robert Powers as General Manager while limiting expense growth to less than 1% from FY25 (bart.gov). The OIG released its FY26 Semiannual Report summarizing audits, investigations and monitoring activities (bartoig.org), and the Board previously adopted resolution 24‑252 to authorize the two‑year FY25–FY26 budget covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026 (bart.gov).
