Not how it works, unfortunately. Photo by SDOT Photos.

The long awaited annual federal payment got a boost when legislation passed authorizing the annual so-called “dedicated funding” and the first appropriation actually cleared Congress in December. Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia all appropriated $50 million each for FY2010, so the federal government put their check in the mail, right? Wrong.

WMATA can’t spend a dime of these federal or local appropriations because the federal government has imposed some bureaucratic rules that were not apparent in the authorizing legislation.

WMATA received notice of the availability of funds in February along with a grant application requirement. WMATA expects to complete the grant by the end of this month, but will have to wait further for a grant approval process.

The first funds won’t be available until around July 1, after the start of WMATA’s FY2011 fiscal year. Only then can WMATA actually enter into contracts to obligate the money, and eventually bill the federal government and the jurisdictions for any payments. The first actual transfer of funds from the federal government and the jurisdictions may not occur until WMATA bills them for the first set of obligations around October 1 of this year.

Meanwhile, the three jurisdictions have all appropriated money for FY10 that has languished. Maryland and Virginia won’t see any of the funds obligated or spent until after their fiscal year ends June 30. The District, whose fiscal year ends September 30, will probably have some of its funds obligated but none spent.

This inability to put to use large sums of money that are tied up in capital funding with WMATA is at the heart of an ongoing dispute between the various jurisdictions and WMATA as Maryland has deferred a Metro Matters payment until FY12 and the District seeks to free up the use of capital dollars for other purposes.

In the resolving this issue, the federal government can play a role by streamlining its process for releasing the funds. WMATA can play a role by utilizing some of the low interest short term borrowing available from federal programs in order to obligate monies sooner and the jurisdictions can make joint decisions instead of taking unilateral actions like Maryland has done.

Craig Simpson is currently working as a representative for Progressive Maryland.  He has in the past worked for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 and the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO.  He has a degree in Labor Studies from the National Labor College.