(The following article by Daisy Hernández appeared in today’s New York Times on the web.)
NEW YORK — The public battle to get the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to release financial information as it considers a fare increase grew more heated yesterday when State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi issued a subpoena ordering the M.T.A. board to open its books by next week.
Mr. Hevesi said the subpoena was necessary because of what he described as the authority’s evasive response to requests for financial information over the last six weeks. “There’s a stall and delay process here,” he said. “We’re not going to play that game.”
In a separate move, Mr. Hevesi called for the transportation authority to provide a five-year budget plan by the end of the month or face court action.
The subpoena apparently took the transportation authority by surprise. In a letter, the agency’s chairman, Peter S. Kalikow, accused Mr. Hevesi of an “unfortunate desire to seek headlines rather than work together” and added that his staff had met with the comptroller’s office whenever Mr. Hevesi had requested it.
If the transportation authority does not comply with the subpoena by Wednesday, Mr. Hevesi said his office, represented by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, would seek an order in State Supreme Court requiring the agency to respond or subject it to fines. Mr. Hevesi said the subpoena’s seven-day deadline was enough time since the authority had to have compiled budget information to justify its need for a fare increase.
M.T.A. officials declined to say exactly how they would answer the subpoena, which names Katherine N. Lapp, the authority’s executive director, Gary G. Caplan, its budget director, and two other officials.
“We will continue to work cooperatively with the comptroller,” said Thomas J. Kelly, a spokesman for the authority.
The agency expects to vote on March 6 about raising fares on city subways and buses and on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. Critics have said the M.T.A. has been deceptive about its finances and has not proven that a fare increase is necessary.
“It’s an example of an agency that doesn’t think it’s responsible to anybody,” said City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., whose office is conducting an audit of New York City Transit, the arm of the transportation authority that runs the buses and subways.
Mr. Hevesi said questions remained unanswered from a Feb. 7 letter his office sent to Mr. Kalikow and from a Jan. 3 meeting between members of his staff and the authority. The Feb. 7 letter included 30 questions about everything from the estimated budget gap and the agency’s debt restructuring to the need for a fare increase. The letter said answers were needed to complete a review of the agency’s finances.
The transportation authority replied with a letter dated Feb. 14 that Mr. Hevesi called “evasive.” On a question about how much the new labor agreements would cost the agency in the next two years, Mr. Kalikow replied that the amount was part of a financial plan to be unveiled in March and added that “we are currently available to brief you privately on this matter.”
Another question asked how the agency estimated ridership. Mr. Kalikow replied that the agency could not answer because another company had determined the numbers and under its contract with them, the authority was not allowed to release the data. It then referred the comptroller to the agency’s Web site, where he could view its Fare Policy Presentation.
Mr. Hevesi also asked the agency yesterday to comply with a law requiring it to have an updated five-year financial plan. The current plan expires next year. In its Feb. 14 letter, Mr. Kalikow wrote that the plan was delayed because of uncertainties related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and conflicting laws about reporting requirements, but that one would be released next month.
Gene Russianoff, the staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, a watchdog group that has also been trying to get the transportation authority to fully release its budget information, said that M.T.A. officials could “walk you through their budget numbers and explain their revenues,” but not how they project revenue. Projections are necessary to determine whether a fare increase is warranted.