Galen Moore, Boston Now

The MBTA will go into 2009 with diminished reserves and a barely balanced budget that could go into the red if fuel costs continue to increase, officials told the Board of Directors yesterday.

The T had to pull $19 million from its rainy-day reserves to balance the $1.45 billion proposed budget.

"I feel as though I'm on the Titanic and you have just destroyed several of the life rafts," said boardmember Grace Shepard, who joined the rest of the board in approving the proposed budget. The budget now goes before the MBTA Advisory Board for review.

Without a bailout of its $8 billion debt burden, or additional state operating funds, the T will not likely be able to balance future budgets, said MBTA CFO Jonathan Davis.

Burning the life rafts

To balance the Fiscal 2009 budget, T managers propose to use one-third of the T's emergency cash reserves.

Article URL