Auditions for MetroPerforms! begin
Warm up those vocal chords. Shine those tap shoes. Dust off those violins. Metro’s Art in Transit program and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will hold the first auditions on May 10 and May 12 for live performances at Metrorail stations.
The MetroPerforms! program invites local performers to showcase their talents at select Metrorail station entrances. Through the audition process, Metro and local arts councils will select the participants to perform near designated Metro station entrances from spring through fall and during the December holiday season. Performances are scheduled to begin in early June.
“MetroPerforms! supports the talents of local performers, enhances both mass transit and pedestrian travel and promotes the arts throughout the region,” said Michael McBride, Metro’s Art in Transit program manager.
Local arts councils have partnered with Metro to establish performance criteria. The arts councils also are responsible for holding the auditions and selecting the performers who will play at stations in their respective jurisdictions, and can choose to pay stipends to the performers.
The artists selected after the May 10 and 12 auditions will perform at stations in the District of Columbia. Currently, Metro is working with the Prince George’s County Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County for upcoming auditions and performances at Metrorail stations in Maryland.
Performances will take place at designated station entrances (to be determined) at a distance far enough away from station stairs and escalators to ensure clear access for people heading into or out of Metrorail stations. In addition, participants in the MetroPerforms! program will not be permitted to sell merchandise, nor ask for money from the public while performing.
The DC Arts Commission auditions take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, at Metro headquarters, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC. Individuals and groups interested in auditioning for the program should bring a photograph and a one-page biography or resume. Auditions are first-come, first-served.
If selected, participants will be notified and the performance schedule will be announced in May. Performers selected to participate in MetroPerforms! are subject to criminal background checks by the Metro Transit Police Department, required to wear a Metro-issued identification badge while performing and must cooperate with Metrorail station managers and Metro Transit Police to ensure that performances do not compromise station access and the safety of Metro customers and the general public.
MetroPerforms! is a one-year pilot program developed by Metro Art in Transit in conjunction with local arts councils served by Metro to enhance the experience of transit users and pedestrians.
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WMATA, DCMETRO BUDGET,
Local: News | Business | Politics | Sports | Entertainment | Comment | Editorial
Rep. Davis: Metro needs more oversight on overtime and pensions
Washington DC Examiner
by Scott McCabe, 5 hrs ago, WASHINGTON
Rep. Tom Davis said an Examiner report revealing how Metro spent $70 million in overtime was evidence that the agency needed more oversight and an independent inspector general.
Metro faces budget shortfall
5 hrs ago, WASHINGTON
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will likely have to tap a reserve fund to balance its budget by the end of the fiscal year.
Software error sparked fire
5 hrs ago, WASHINGTON
A software malfunction led to the fire on a Metrorail car Sunday that forced the evacuation and closure of the Waterfront station, a transit system official said Thursday. The incident concerned Metro officials because it happened on one of the system’s new 6000 series cars. Steven Fiel, Metro’s chief operating officer for rail, said the computer software in the railcar that controls the flow of electricity did not redirect the current away from equipment on the car’s undercarriage as it should have, causing the equipment to heat up and catch fire. Fiel said the problem is being corrected in the 152 railcars that use the software.
More from The Washington DC Examiner
Rep. Davis: Metro needs more oversight on overtime and pensions
Washington DC Examiner
by Scott McCabe, 5 hrs ago, WASHINGTON
Rep. Tom Davis said an Examiner report revealing how Metro spent $70 million in overtime was evidence that the agency needed more oversight and an independent inspector general.
Metro faces budget shortfall
5 hrs ago, WASHINGTON
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will likely have to tap a reserve fund to balance its budget by the end of the fiscal year.
Software error sparked fire
5 hrs ago, WASHINGTON
A software malfunction led to the fire on a Metrorail car Sunday that forced the evacuation and closure of the Waterfront station, a transit system official said Thursday. The incident concerned Metro officials because it happened on one of the system’s new 6000 series cars. Steven Fiel, Metro’s chief operating officer for rail, said the computer software in the railcar that controls the flow of electricity did not redirect the current away from equipment on the car’s undercarriage as it should have, causing the equipment to heat up and catch fire. Fiel said the problem is being corrected in the 152 railcars that use the software.
More from The Washington DC Examiner
Thursday, April 12, 2007
DC. EXAMINER,
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1. Metro drivers make $100,000 in pay
2. Blog - DC in Pictures
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5. Metro staff hop on overtime gravy train
6. Many questions remain in police shooting
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8. Pension formula sends costs soaring for Metro
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METRO GRAVY TRAIN,WMATA PAY SCALES,SIX(6) DIGITS EARNERS, DC. TRANSIT SALARY LIST,
Metro drivers make $100,000 in pay
1 hr 25 ago Metro drivers make $100,000 in pay
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Apr 12, 2007 9:05 AM (1 hr 25 mins ago)
by Joe Rogalsky, The Examiner
Font Size: a a A A
Current rank: # 1 of 23,758
(Greg Whitesell/Examiner)
Thirty bus and train operators took home more than $50,000 in overtime. WASHINGTON (Map, News) - More than 100 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority bus and train operators took home paychecks topping $100,000 in fiscal 2006 because of lush overtime earnings that have skewed Metro’s budget and sent pension costs spiraling out of control under a uniquely generous employee retirement plan.
Overall, Metro paid its employees $70 million in overtime in 2006 and is on track to spend the same amount in this budget year, according to a recent audit report, continuing a trend of high overtime costs that have plagued Metro’s budgets for years.
WHO'S MAKING WHAT
See complete list of Metro Workforce Compensation 2006
Roughly $30 million of the overtime payments went to Metro’s 2,400 bus operators and 500 train operators, 125 of whom earned more than $100,000 that year. Another 284 hourly Metro workers in other departments earned more than $100,000 because of overtime. Only 180 of Metro’s salaried management employees earned more than $100,000.
In some cases, the overtime wages accounted for nearly half of an operator's annual paycheck, meaning the employee is working significantly more than the usual 40 hours each week. Thirty operators took home more than $50,000 in overtime.
The two highest-paid train operators, who earned $153,759 and $152,891 respectively, earned $74,208 and $73,659 in overtime. The highest-paid bus operators collected $127,653 and $126,457, received $53,696 and $52,490, in overtime. In other cases, overtime accounted for almost 50 percent of an employee’s paychecks in 2006.
Overtime hours are paid at 1 1/2 times the employee's usual hourly rate, making regular use of overtime expensive. Metro General Manager John Catoe, who took over in January, hopes to reduce overtime as part of his strategy to cut costs and keep Metro’s budget balanced.
RELATED ARTICLES
Metro staff hop on overtime gravy train
WHO MADE A KILLING IN OVERTIME: Metro Workforce Compensation 2006 Overtime List
Overtime work costs Metro more than other regional transit agencies because the system's retirement policy includes overtime payments when calculating pension payments, a rarity in transit agencies elsewhere. The policy means Metro is paying vastly higher pensions to employees than they would receive if their retirement payments were based on regular hourly earnings.
The increasing cost of pensions was one of the chief reasons Metro officials cited when they proposed fare increases in December. Catoe has since shelved the fare-increase idea while he looks for new ways to slice spending.
Metro Board of Directors member Ray Bricuso said the rich overtime system “needs to stop. An employee who makes $65,000 can work a lot of overtime their final years on the job and make $100,000 a year. That would increase their annual pension to about $80,000 for what is really a $65,000 job.”
Stopping this practice may not be easy.
Metro’s employee union enjoys immense clout when it negotiates contracts with Metro’s board, which is not profit-focused like the board of directors of a private company. They are political appointees and often are also elected officials, who are concerned with pleasing voters — such as Metro’s 10,000 employees.
“The make up of the board is heavily political, let’s leave it at that,” Metro Board Chairman Charles Deegan said.
Even with the lavish pension system, Metro has difficulty attracting top job candidates because of its unusual hiring practices.
Until recently, Metro required that bus operators spend up to a year as part-time employees, positions that come without the health insurance and other benefits of full-time employment. Metro also has a long-standing policy that it will hire only bus operators to fill open train-operator positions.
Some board members say they think these policies make it hard to expand the work force, which would allow Metro to cut back on overtime. These practices also saddle Metro with a large pool of inexperienced bus operators because many job candidates do not want to start off earning a part-time salary with no benefits.
Critics of the system believe that lack of experience is one reason Metrobus operators have been involved in so many accidents in the past year. None of the highly paid, experienced drivers were involved in any of the crashes.
Even as its fiscal situation grows more dire, Metro is expanding its service, creating a higher demand for bus and train operators. Metro Chief Bus Operating Officer Jack Requa said the agency has expanded its training program for bus drivers to get more new hires behind the wheel sooner.
Metro’s high overtime outlays would suggest that the system is short of personnel. Metro reports having just 70 vacancies out of 2,400 bus operator positions.
“It may be that we should hire more operators,” Catoe said. “We need to consider hiring more operators if it means cutting down on overtime.”
jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com
Examiner
1 hr 25 ago Metro drivers make $100,000 in pay
Printer Friendly | PDF | Email
Apr 12, 2007 9:05 AM (1 hr 25 mins ago)
by Joe Rogalsky, The Examiner
Font Size: a a A A
Current rank: # 1 of 23,758
(Greg Whitesell/Examiner)
Thirty bus and train operators took home more than $50,000 in overtime. WASHINGTON (Map, News) - More than 100 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority bus and train operators took home paychecks topping $100,000 in fiscal 2006 because of lush overtime earnings that have skewed Metro’s budget and sent pension costs spiraling out of control under a uniquely generous employee retirement plan.
Overall, Metro paid its employees $70 million in overtime in 2006 and is on track to spend the same amount in this budget year, according to a recent audit report, continuing a trend of high overtime costs that have plagued Metro’s budgets for years.
WHO'S MAKING WHAT
See complete list of Metro Workforce Compensation 2006
Roughly $30 million of the overtime payments went to Metro’s 2,400 bus operators and 500 train operators, 125 of whom earned more than $100,000 that year. Another 284 hourly Metro workers in other departments earned more than $100,000 because of overtime. Only 180 of Metro’s salaried management employees earned more than $100,000.
In some cases, the overtime wages accounted for nearly half of an operator's annual paycheck, meaning the employee is working significantly more than the usual 40 hours each week. Thirty operators took home more than $50,000 in overtime.
The two highest-paid train operators, who earned $153,759 and $152,891 respectively, earned $74,208 and $73,659 in overtime. The highest-paid bus operators collected $127,653 and $126,457, received $53,696 and $52,490, in overtime. In other cases, overtime accounted for almost 50 percent of an employee’s paychecks in 2006.
Overtime hours are paid at 1 1/2 times the employee's usual hourly rate, making regular use of overtime expensive. Metro General Manager John Catoe, who took over in January, hopes to reduce overtime as part of his strategy to cut costs and keep Metro’s budget balanced.
RELATED ARTICLES
Metro staff hop on overtime gravy train
WHO MADE A KILLING IN OVERTIME: Metro Workforce Compensation 2006 Overtime List
Overtime work costs Metro more than other regional transit agencies because the system's retirement policy includes overtime payments when calculating pension payments, a rarity in transit agencies elsewhere. The policy means Metro is paying vastly higher pensions to employees than they would receive if their retirement payments were based on regular hourly earnings.
The increasing cost of pensions was one of the chief reasons Metro officials cited when they proposed fare increases in December. Catoe has since shelved the fare-increase idea while he looks for new ways to slice spending.
Metro Board of Directors member Ray Bricuso said the rich overtime system “needs to stop. An employee who makes $65,000 can work a lot of overtime their final years on the job and make $100,000 a year. That would increase their annual pension to about $80,000 for what is really a $65,000 job.”
Stopping this practice may not be easy.
Metro’s employee union enjoys immense clout when it negotiates contracts with Metro’s board, which is not profit-focused like the board of directors of a private company. They are political appointees and often are also elected officials, who are concerned with pleasing voters — such as Metro’s 10,000 employees.
“The make up of the board is heavily political, let’s leave it at that,” Metro Board Chairman Charles Deegan said.
Even with the lavish pension system, Metro has difficulty attracting top job candidates because of its unusual hiring practices.
Until recently, Metro required that bus operators spend up to a year as part-time employees, positions that come without the health insurance and other benefits of full-time employment. Metro also has a long-standing policy that it will hire only bus operators to fill open train-operator positions.
Some board members say they think these policies make it hard to expand the work force, which would allow Metro to cut back on overtime. These practices also saddle Metro with a large pool of inexperienced bus operators because many job candidates do not want to start off earning a part-time salary with no benefits.
Critics of the system believe that lack of experience is one reason Metrobus operators have been involved in so many accidents in the past year. None of the highly paid, experienced drivers were involved in any of the crashes.
Even as its fiscal situation grows more dire, Metro is expanding its service, creating a higher demand for bus and train operators. Metro Chief Bus Operating Officer Jack Requa said the agency has expanded its training program for bus drivers to get more new hires behind the wheel sooner.
Metro’s high overtime outlays would suggest that the system is short of personnel. Metro reports having just 70 vacancies out of 2,400 bus operator positions.
“It may be that we should hire more operators,” Catoe said. “We need to consider hiring more operators if it means cutting down on overtime.”
jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com
Examiner
WMATA, JOE ROGALSKY, DCEXAMINER, DCTRANSIT EMPLOYEES,UNION WORKERS
Others hop on overtime bandwagon
4 hrs ago Others hop on overtime bandwagon
4 hrs ago Pension formula that includes OT payments sends costs soaring
4 hrs ago Metro drivers raking in overtime
2 days ago Fort Meade keeps marching into history
21 days ago Commuters give weeks to the ride
24 days ago Iraq War: Four years of battle abroad and at home
31 days ago ‘Just us girls’: The charter schools saga
31 days ago Soldier boxes way to a good fight
38 days ago Convention center stunts area growth
38 days ago The new kid on the block
Printer Friendly | PDF | Email
Apr 12, 2007 3:00 AM (4 hrs ago)
by Joe Rogalsky, The Examiner
Font Size: a a A A
Current rank: # 85 of 23,393
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority makes hefty overtime payments to more employees than just bus and train operators. Personnel putting in lucrative extra time include police officers, station managers, mechanics and maintenance workers.
“Overtime is something we should be watching across the entire system,” said D.C. Council Member Jim Graham, who chairs the Metro Board of Directors’ budget committee. “It is expensive no matter who is getting it.”
Out of the seven overtime-eligible Metro employees who earned more than $150,000 in fiscal 2006, five were members of the Metro police force. The two highest-earning officers worked in the force’s field operations division. The top-paid officer made $78,488 out of his $162,768 salary from overtime and the second highest-paid officer took in $158,586 overall, $71,318 from overtime. Both made more than their boss, Metro Police Chief Polly Hanson, who earned $145,307.
Other workers putting in a lot of overtime include the supervisor of car inspection at the Brentwood Rail Facility, who made $67,637 of his $144,537 pay by working overtime. The highest-earning station manager, who runs New Carrollton, took home $143,183 after chalking up $68,590 in overtime.
jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com
4 hrs ago Others hop on overtime bandwagon
4 hrs ago Pension formula that includes OT payments sends costs soaring
4 hrs ago Metro drivers raking in overtime
2 days ago Fort Meade keeps marching into history
21 days ago Commuters give weeks to the ride
24 days ago Iraq War: Four years of battle abroad and at home
31 days ago ‘Just us girls’: The charter schools saga
31 days ago Soldier boxes way to a good fight
38 days ago Convention center stunts area growth
38 days ago The new kid on the block
Printer Friendly | PDF | Email
Apr 12, 2007 3:00 AM (4 hrs ago)
by Joe Rogalsky, The Examiner
Font Size: a a A A
Current rank: # 85 of 23,393
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority makes hefty overtime payments to more employees than just bus and train operators. Personnel putting in lucrative extra time include police officers, station managers, mechanics and maintenance workers.
“Overtime is something we should be watching across the entire system,” said D.C. Council Member Jim Graham, who chairs the Metro Board of Directors’ budget committee. “It is expensive no matter who is getting it.”
Out of the seven overtime-eligible Metro employees who earned more than $150,000 in fiscal 2006, five were members of the Metro police force. The two highest-earning officers worked in the force’s field operations division. The top-paid officer made $78,488 out of his $162,768 salary from overtime and the second highest-paid officer took in $158,586 overall, $71,318 from overtime. Both made more than their boss, Metro Police Chief Polly Hanson, who earned $145,307.
Other workers putting in a lot of overtime include the supervisor of car inspection at the Brentwood Rail Facility, who made $67,637 of his $144,537 pay by working overtime. The highest-earning station manager, who runs New Carrollton, took home $143,183 after chalking up $68,590 in overtime.
jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
DCMETRO PARKING, SMARTRIP ALTERNATIVE,CASHLESS,
Credit card payment tested at Metro lotsCustomers can use a credit card to pay for parking at six stations beginning Monday, April 2.The three month pilot program aims to give riders an alternative method to pay for parking at Metro parking facilities. Currently, all customers must pay for parking with a SmarTrip card. Metro parking facilities have been "cashless" since May 2004.Over the past several weeks, the parking office has overseen the installation of credit card readers at the parking facilities at Anacostia, Franconia-Springfield, Largo Town Center, New Carrollton, Vienna/Fairfax-GMU and Shady Grove. Each garage will have one exit lane that accepts both credit cards and SmarTrip cards.Directional signs informing drivers about the appropriate credit card exit lanes also will be posted.The launch of the $700,000 pilot program coincides with the start of the tourist and cherry blossom seasons in the region. During the springtime Metro sees many new riders, occasional riders and tourists— a group that typically does not use SmarTrip.
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