Metro is currently recruiting members of the public to serve on the Measure M Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee which was formed following the approval of Measure M in 2016 to monitor and ensure that all tax measure revenues are spent for transportation purposes.
There are currently three vacancies on the seven-member committee with applications now being accepted to fill those vacancies as soon as possible. Metro is specifically looking for committee members that represent the following professions or areas of expertise:
Vacant committee positions:
Retired State Judge
Municipal/Public Finance/Budget
Management of Large-Scale Construction Projects
Current committee members:
Transit (Operations & Labor Practices) Professional
Financial Policies, Performance Measurements and Reviews
Licensed Architect or Engineer
Business Representative.
General responsibilities of the Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee include:
-Approve the scope of work and direct the work of the auditors.
-Prepare an annual report on the results of the annual audit, any findings made, and report the comments to the Metro Board.
-Review all proposed debt financing and make a finding as to whether the benefits of the proposed financing for accelerating project delivery, avoiding future cost escalation, and related factors exceed issuance and interest costs.
-Review any proposed amendments to the Ordinance, including the Expenditure Plan, and make a finding.
Members must reside in Los Angeles County and will be subject to conflict-of-interest provisions. No person currently serving as an elected or appointed city, county, special district, state, or federal public officeholder shall be eligible to serve as a member of the committee.
The term of the appointment is five years with no limit on the number of terms that can be served. A stipend of $100 per meeting will be provided and the committee meets virtually, four times a year. The deadline to submit your application is November 30, 2022, with appointments being made by January 1, 2023.
Please visit https://www.metro.net/about/measure-m/#measure-m-independent-taxpayer-oversight-committee for more information and to submit an application to become a member.
LA County voters approved Measure M with 71.15% support in 2016. The half-cent sales tax measure funds projects to ease traffic, repair local streets and sidewalks, expand public transportation, earthquake retrofit bridges and subsidize transit fares for students, seniors and persons with disabilities.
In addition, Measure M partially funds many Metro projects, as well as making funding available to local jurisdictions via the Metro Subregional Program, Metro Active Transportation, Transit and First/Last Mile Program; and through Local Return.
Categories: Transportation News
The first priority for investigation should be the Eastside Phase 2 project, a $5 billion subway for an outlet mall in an industrial area that will serve less than 3,500 riders. Only a corrupt project manager and leadership could design a $5 billion transportation project in LA that will serve less people than at Metro’s existing bus stops. And less people than the existing Atlantic station that Metro now wants to demolish and rebuild as a subway station, wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer money for a boondoggle project. While Metro projects that will serve over 100,000 riders in lower income communities along Vermont get delayed until after the year 2067.