***Charlie Baker's $100K bathroom
So they save money elsewhere and can misspend on an unneessary bathroom? | ||
| WORTH READING IN ITS ENTIRETY FOR CHARLIE'S NON-ANSWERS: |
Gov. Charlie Baker praises MassDOT's fiscal management in spite of $100k bathroom criticism
Updated Posted
SPRINGFIELD -- Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said he has "full faith and confidence" in how the state's Department of Transportation handles taxpayer dollars in wake of criticism the agency has received for adding a $100,000 bathroom to its downtown Boston office.
The governor told The Republican's editorial board last week that while he understands why some may be upset by MassDOT's decision to install the restroom, he believes it was needed and that the costs associated with the project seem on par with that type of construction.
Baker further offered that state transportation officials have generally done everything in their power to ensure they're effectively and efficiently spending tax dollars.
"I have full faith and confidence in the work that's being done by DOT and by the MBTA. They were supposed to have a $350 million deficit on the T's operating budget in the fiscal year that ends this year ... it's about $50 million and they took a ton of savings and invested in the capital program," he said. "And because they've been investing their savings in their capital program, their draw on the state budget overall has actually gone down by probably $100 million on the operating side over the past few years."
Noting that the bathroom came as part of a larger renovation, the governor offered that "putting plumbing in the middle of an existing building where it doesn't exist is expensive."
Baker, however, acknowledged that he's not an expert in renovation costs.
The governor, who said he believed the bathroom was installed, in part, because of the (MBTA) fiscal management control boards' hours-long meetings, offered that the agency, overall, has been saving Massachusetts money.
"In the big picture, those folks have saved hundreds of millions of dollars on the state's operating budget on an annualized basis over the last few years - which has been spent on other stuff like education and environmental policy," he said.
Baker said he's not going to judge whether the agency needed the bathroom, but added for the record: "I think they did."
The governor said he would likely look at the project differently if he thought that "the T and the fiscal control management board wasn't doing everything they could to come up with a more effective and efficient way to spend tax dollars -- and this was just one more element in a series of really significant issues."
"That would bother me a lot more," he said. "But, these folks negotiated the toughest and best contracts we've had with the unions of the T that we've seen in literally decades ... They dramatically reduced the operating deficit, which had a positive impact on the rest of the state's budget in a big way, and they've been very aggressive about the way they've dealt with the taxpayer dime."
Baker's remarks came just days after he told WAAF's "The Hill-Man Morning Show" that he was not familiar with the MassDOT project, which WCVB-TV first reported about on Feb. 19.
The new bathroom and a kitchenette are located near the boardroom used by MassDOT's board of directors and the MBTA's fiscal control board.
Reports suggested that the new facility was built despite a public restroom already being located near the boardroom.
MassDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack said in a Feb. 26 statement that "while trying to meet the legitimate needs of our volunteer board members (the agency) should have been more careful to minimize the cost of the project."
"In the future we will be more careful to ensure that necessary work in our building gets done for the lowest possible price," she reportedly added.
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/03/gov_charlie_baker_praises_mass.html$100
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