Nearly all the Metro board members with the worst attendance records serve as alternates, yet the officials who appoint them say board members should attend all meetings regardless.
“Everyone wants to be ensured that the jurisdiction is fairly represented,” said Prince George’s County spokesman Jim Keary. “You’re supposed to attend the meetings.”
Members of the 14-person board represent specific jurisdictions, advocating for their local riders and taxpayers but also the entire system. Seven members have votes at the full board meetings, with an alternate to take their places if absent.
Metro’s board of directors face a hodgepodge of rules as a multijurisdictional agency:
» Compensation: All board members ride Metro free — while they serve and for the rest of their lives. But other compensation varies from nothing in the case of the federal appointees and D.C. members to $50 per meeting for Virginia representatives, about $20,000 for Maryland representatives, but as much as $100,000 in billable hours for the Prince George’s County alternate.
» Attendance: Many jurisdictions have attendance rules applying to their other local commissions and committees, yet few can say what rules apply to their Metro board members. Montgomery County officials are not sure whether the county’s normal rules allowing no more than five absences per year would apply to its Metro representative, Gordon Linton, who missed 13 meetings last year. The General Services Administration, which appoints federal members referred questions to Metro. Virginia has no attendance requirements, and District officials couldn’t answer the question.
But the alternates serve — and vote — on committees, where many of the real decisions are made before the board’s rubber-stamp approval. Until late January, board policy allowed members votes in any committee meeting. Now, board members can vote only in the committees on which they serve, but many attend so they can stay involved.
For example, Arlington County Board member Christopher Zimmerman has missed one committee meeting in the past 18 months, records show. “I try to keep informed as a board member,” he said.
Even when alternates’ votes do count, the members don’t always show up. On July 8, for example, D.C. Councilman Michael Brown arrived at the 10:30 a.m. Customer Service, Operations and Safety Committee well after 11:45 a.m. Brown, one of four voting members, soon stepped out to make a phone call.
That day, the committee learned about a plan to reroute the Blue Line and heard a key safety update on dangerous flaws with the doors of 100 rail cars.
Greater Greater Washington blogger David Alpert wrote after one of Brown’s many absences: “If he doesn’t feel it’s a worthwhile use of his time, he should step down and the council should appoint someone who does.”
When asked about his poor attendance, Brown said he has improved in the past few months. Indeed, his record improved from missing two-thirds of all meetings in 18 months to missing half of them, skipping 16 of 32 meetings in the first half of this year, board records show. His record remains among the worst.
Brown said he adds value in his role, as he often discusses Metro in the community and stays informed through e-mails and other methods.
“My attendance hasn’t been great but my engagement has always been there,” Brown said. “Engagement can’t just be measured by attendance.”
