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Results of State Audit

Dear Friend of VTA:

On July 31, 2008, the Bureau of State Audits (BSA) released its report on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This independent state audit was requested by Assembly Members Sally Lieber and Jim Beall, and Senator Elaine Alquist. A copy of the BSA report and VTA’s detailed response can be accessed through the following link: www.bsa.ca.gov.

In general, the BSA report validates the recommendations contained in the Organizational and Financial Assessment that was performed by the Hay Group a year ago, reaffirms the efforts that VTA has undertaken so far to advance them, and recommends that we continue with implementation. In addition, the BSA report outlines its own recommendations that build upon the spirit of the Hay Group’s assessment and provide a framework for how we can make some of our existing practices more effective and efficient.

Worth highlighting in the BSA report are the following:

• The BSA report did not recommend significant changes to VTA’s governance, but rather endorsed the incremental changes that are already being pursued by the Board of Directors.
• BSA found that VTA’s financial reporting and planning generally meet best practices in government finance, and acknowledged that VTA has made significant strides in this regard since the release of the Hay Group assessment a year ago.
• BSA found that VTA’s project planning practices generally conform to best practices, but noted that there is room for improving procedures for estimating project costs and revenues, as well as project monitoring.

I concur with the BSA’s recommendations and believe they will make VTA an even better organization. In fact, as you will see from our detailed response to the Bureau’s report, we have identified specific actions and timelines for following up on its recommendations.

Finally, I want to thank the BSA team. Given that VTA is a complex, multi-faceted organization, they had a very challenging task, and handled it in a professional and diligent manner.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Burns
General Manager

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About VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning. As such, VTA is both an accessible transit provider and multi-modal transportation planning organization involved with transit, highways and roadways, bikeways and pedestrian facilities.