Studies Have Recommended Changes to WMATA’s Governance

Three reports issued in 2010 identified weaknesses in WMATA’s  management and board oversight and called for change in WMATA’s  governance structure and procedures. Stakeholders Believe Inadequate Delineation, Documentation, Communication, and Self-Assessment of the Board’s Responsibilities Have Led to Occasional Lack of Strategic Focus

WMATA board members, officials, and other stakeholders have reported  that the board sometimes focuses on management’s day-to-day  responsibilities rather than higher level board responsibilities such as  policy, oversight, and strategic planning. This lack of strategic focus may  have resulted from inadequate delineation and documentation of the  board’s responsibilities, as well as inadequate communication among  board members. For example, in the past, WMATA’s board procedures were  subject to change by the annually rotated chairperson. As a result, the board is  lacking a key mechanism for regular, ongoing measurement of its  performance. Additionally, in April 2011,  the board released draft bylaws intended to be permanent and amendable  only by a majority vote of the board. The types of oversight information available to  the board are important because they can provide the board with  understanding about areas in need of attention and improvement  regarding the operations and finances of the agency. However, past board  practices such as infrequent meetings of the Audit and Investigations  Subcommittee and the lack of routine briefings on the status of  recommendations from outside parties may have impaired the ability of  the board to use this information to effectively carry out its oversight role. However, given the variety in other transit  agencies’ practices and the lack of clear criteria on how often audit  committees should meet, there is no clear standard against which to  measure WMATA’s practices. WMATA Has Made Progress, but Does Not Fully Address All Elements of Sound Strategic Planning

		WMATA Has Established Some Strategic Planning Elements

WMATA has developed elements of strategic planning over the past 4  years, but the agency’s board and management could improve their  strategic focus and long-term planning processes. WMATA  officials acknowledged several failed efforts at strategic planning, which  they said occurred because of a lack of management support and  employee buy-in, a lack of specific actions to execute the plans, and a  focus on tactical versus strategic decision making. WMATA has developed several elements of effective strategic planning  through its strategic framework and execution plans, such as a mission  statement, goals, objectives, strategies, and metrics. As WMATA takes steps to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the  board and management in its draft bylaws, it needs to ensure that a  clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of each are adopted  and effectively implemented. Improve the agency’s strategic planning process by (1) defining and  documenting roles for the board, management, and stakeholders in  strategic planning; (2) ensuring that the strategic plan is sufficiently  long term; (3) ensuring that board-approved strategic goals and  objectives are linked to updated performance measures; (4) including  internal and external assessments and program evaluations; and (5)  reviewing the strategic plan on a regular basis and updating it as  needed. Conduct a regular assessment of the board’s performance, including  elements such as an evaluation of the effectiveness of the board’s  organization, structure, and functioning, and its impact on  performance. We selected leading governance practices relevant to transit agencies from  several sources, including those practices used in previous GAO work on  public and private sector governance challenges at several organizations  and non-GAO studies, reports, and recommendations concerning the  governance of transit agencies, other similar organizations, and  corporations. Therefore, “the board should increase the term length of the chair from  one to two years.” In addition, responsibilities should be clearly defined to  ensure “the chair has sufficient authority to assume a true leadership role.”

		Leading Governance Practice and Other Transit Agencies

Leading governance practices state that a strong chairperson is essential  for an effective transit board and note that it is the chair’s role to lead and  motivate the board in achievement of the transit system’s mission,  strategic goals, and performance.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) public rail transit and bus systems are vital to the national capital region. However, the 35-year-old rail system has experienced safety and reliability problems, including fatal accidents. A 16-member board of directors governs WMATA, setting policies and providing oversight. Recent reports have noted weaknesses in WMATA's governance structure and recommended changing it. GAO assessed WMATA's governance in terms of the board's roles and responsibilities, oversight, and strategic planning. To do so, GAO compiled leading practices from previous GAO work on public and private sector governance, non-GAO transit governance studies, and strategic planning standards; then compared WMATA's approach to those practices. GAO also spoke with six transit agencies selected based on board composition and ridership, among other things.

What GAO Found

Although some requirements and guidance for board roles and responsibilities are provided in the WMATA compact and board procedures, WMATA board members, officials, and other stakeholders have reported that sometimes the board focuses on management's day-to-day responsibilities rather than higher level board responsibilities such as oversight and strategic planning. This focus may have resulted from, for example, inadequate delineation and documentation of the board's responsibilities as well as inadequate communication among board members. In addition, while leading governance practices state that effective transit boards monitor the effectiveness of the board's organization, structure, and functioning through a regular board selfassessment, WMATA's board does not do so. As a result, the board lacks a key mechanism for regular, ongoing measurement of its performance. In April 2011, the board released draft bylaws that clarify the roles and responsibilities for the board and propose that the board chair coordinate a board selfevaluation. These draft bylaws represent a good first step toward addressing some of the concerns discussed in this report but will need to be adopted and then effectively implemented to achieve their desired effect. The board's oversight role is supported by the board's committee structure, which provides a communication channel for information to reach the board. Past board practices such as infrequent meetings of the Audit and Investigations Subcommittee and the lack of routine briefings on outside safety recommendations may have impaired the ability of the board to use information about areas in need of improvement regarding the operations and finances of the agency. However, given the variety in other transit agencies' practices and the lack of clear criteria on how often audit committees should meet, there is no clear standard against which to measure WMATA's practices. The board's draft bylaws propose changes to the organization of the board's committee structure. WMATA has developed elements of strategic planning over the past 4 years, but the agency's board and management could enhance their strategic focus and long-term planning processes to improve performance. WMATA acknowledged several failed past efforts at strategic planning. WMATA officials said that prior attempts failed due to a lack of management support, employee buy-in, and specific actions to execute the plans; and a focus on tactical versus strategic decision making. WMATA management has developed several elements of strategic planning, such as a mission statement, goals, objectives, and strategies. However, the agency's strategic planning process could benefit from more board and stakeholder involvement, internal and external environmental assessments, longer time frames, program evaluations, and updated performance metrics. In June 2011, the board launched an effort to overhaul its strategic planning process.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends among other things that the WMATA board of directors follow through with its efforts to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the board; conduct a regular self-assessment of the board's effectiveness; and improve its strategic planning process by actions such as increasing the board's involvement in the process and updating the agency's performance metrics. WMATA reviewed a draft of this report and noted that it has taken recent actions that begin to address some issues covered in this report.