Massport holds its cards close

Pike critics wary of possible merger

If Massport ran a slice of the Mass. Pike, critics say, the public could have less say on tolls at booths like those in Weston. (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/File 2008)

Many commuters have been resentful that a group of unelected officials has the power to raise tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

But if Governor Deval Patrick has his way, the next group that sets tolls could be even further removed from the grip of elected officials.

The Massachusetts Port Authority now runs the airport, seaport, and Tobin Bridge. It may soon extend its reach to the Big Dig and the eastern portion of the Massachusetts Turnpike, the governor has announced.

It is the only transportation agency with a governing board not led by a Patrick appointee and the only one whose board is primarily made up of appointees from previous administrations.

The board, as operator of one of the nation's busiest airports, also has a decidedly different philosophy than other agencies, priding itself on running more like a business than a government entity.

In practice, the board members often hold their cards close, generally spending more time meeting in closed executive session than in the open. Until March, it did not release its meeting agendas in advance. When the board does meet in open session, dissent is rare. A spokesman said there has been an average of two dissenting votes a year since the beginning of 2002.

Massport officials say the agency is as accountable and transparent as any government body, complying with open meeting laws and handling requests for public information more promptly than other agencies.

"To say that we are not accountable is wrong," said Matthew Brelis, a spokesman.

Like other state agencies, the board goes into closed session to discuss legal, real estate, collective bargaining, and security matters, he said.

Brelis said the independence of the agency - which was specifically created by the Legislature in the 1950s - has benefited the public because it has helped Massport run safe and secure facilities more nimbly, without needing money or approval from the Legislature to meet its needs.

But critics say the benefits of independence would do little for people paying the tolls if Massport takes over the eastern portion of the turnpike and the Big Dig. "It's just a lot more of the same," said Michael Kelleher, an antitoll activist from East Boston, the community most closely affected by construction at the airport. "It's just a big bureaucracy that the regular person can't fight."

Taking over the turnpike's busiest section, along with the Big Dig, would be a fundamental change for the agency, but the board has not debated it in public. At one meeting in November, board chairman John A. Quelch and CEO Thomas J. Kinton Jr. read from prepared statements that addressed the possible merger. No spontaneous discussion followed the scripted remarks. Last month, Kinton testified before a legislative committee and answered questions from lawmakers, but board members involved in negotiations have not deliberated in public.

The board discussions have taken place behind the scenes. Since September, board members have met six times in closed executive session to discuss the turnpike merger, either as a full board or in committees, according to Brelis.

Kinton, through Brelis, declined an interview request for this report because Patrick has yet to formalize his reorganization plan and submit it to the Legislature. Brelis said the board discussed the plan in executive sessions because it involves the possible transfer of real estate, a legally permitted exemption to the state's open meetings laws, and that the Legislature would debate the plan in public before any changes are made. Asked about the general culture of the agency, Brelis said "We are an independent state authority and are subject to the state public records law and the open meetings law."

Although Patrick hasn't spelled out how Massport might govern the turnpike, the agency already runs one toll road, the Tobin Bridge. Brelis said the board's process for raising tolls on that bridge includes hearings where members of the public can offer comments, similar to the process used by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

The Patrick administration declined to discuss how accountable Massport would be under a new transportation model. The administration has promised that a plan will be released this month, and it is possible that the reorganization could also include changes to Massport's governing system, though no one in the administration has floated the possibility publicly.

"While public accountability will certainly be a key component of the final package, it would be premature to speculate on any specifics prior to the plan's completion," said Adam Hurtubise, a spokesman for the executive office of transportation, in an e-mailed statement.

Though officials say they only meet in executive sessions for legally necessary reasons, the agency has said in the past that working behind the scenes helps keep open sessions more orderly. The Globe published an analysis at the end of 2001 that showed the board cast 180 votes without a single dissent over a two-year period. Its chairman at the time, Mark Robinson, said most issues were "vetted and all teed up for the board" before meetings because "you don't want a brawl breaking out at your meetings."

"Anyone who thinks that Massport is an exercise in transparency, efficiency, and good government, I've got a bridge to sell you," said Senator Mark C. Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat. "If you consolidate agencies, there's the potential to make it more powerful and less transparent."

By law, sitting governors appoint the Massport board's seven members, but, because of staggered terms, it is not until the final six months of a four-year term that a governor would typically control a board majority. The Turnpike Authority's five-member board is also structured to keep a sitting governor from gaining a majority until the end of his term. But because of resignations, and a smaller board, Patrick gained control of the turnpike soon after taking office.

In 2004, a change in state law made the state transportation secretary the chairman of the Pike board, a position he or she already held at the MBTA. This gives a governor great influence, even without a majority, said Mary Z. Connaughton, one of two Turnpike Authority board members appointed by former governor Mitt Romney. Sitting governors had the power to appoint the MBTA board chairman prior to the 2004 change.

Because of the change, Patrick has had to accept responsibility for the recent toll hike proposal, Connaughton said. "Before, the chairman used to be able to just do what he wanted to . . . without any responsibility to an elected official," she said.

Massport has long been more independent than other governmental entities, partly by design. When the agency was founded in 1956, a special commission recommended that it should run more like a business, without the "formalities" of government and politics. It was considered an advantage because the agency, then running a deficit, needed flexibility with salaries and purchasing decisions to compete with other airports, according to the 1956 special commission report.

The agency now has strong finances, though it has been criticized at times for excessive benefits. Credit rating agencies have generally approved of the more businesslike structure. Senator Steven A. Baddour, the Methuen Democrat who cochairs the Joint Committee on Transportation, opposes putting Massport in charge of the turnpike, but said the agency has been responsive to legislators, though it does not receive state funding.

That independence could be considered an advantage for the Turnpike Authority's finances. Bond rating agencies, which have put the Turnpike Authority's credit at the cusp of junk bond status, have cited political pressure as a key reason the authority has been unable to raise tolls at regular intervals to keep up with its expenses.

Dennis Hale, a political scientist at Boston College, said Massport would probably be under as much pressure as the Turnpike Authority to keep tolls down. And if they weren't, he said, "why would that be a good thing for the public?"

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.