DC: Update on Metro Response to Federal Transit Administration Financial Management Oversight Report
As of April 10, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has taken the following steps in response to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) draft Financial Management Oversight (FMO) report:
- Provided FTA with a written response to the report
- Submitted certification to FTA affirming that Metro is in compliance with federal grant rules
In addition, at a special meeting of the WMATA Board of Directors on April 7, the board unanimously approved new policies regarding grants management and procurement. The board policy regarding grants management is the first of its kind for WMATA and strengthens WMATA's commitment to full compliance with all FTA rules through the development and implementation of a grants management procedures manual.
The board policy regarding procurement ensures full and open competition, and takes the unusual and forward-looking approach of moving towards a procurement process that requires every procurement, irrespective of funding source, to follow federal procurement competition guidelines as a minimum standard. Staff with responsibility for grants and procurement have been trained on the new policies, and procedural safeguards have been put in place to obtain performance and accountability to the new standards.
With the new policies in place, WMATA has fully addressed the Material Weaknesses identified in the FMO and implementation is underway. Concurrently, WMATA is working to favorably resolve all other issues identified in the FMO report.
