Maryland's transportation secretary says the state will withhold about $55.6 million in capital funds from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority due to a lack of transparency about how state money is being used.
Pete Rahn wrote a letter Monday to WMATA board members and the CEO. Rahn says it's a necessary step "in response to an ongoing pattern of fiscal obfuscation and a lack of cooperation from WMATA.''
A 2016 Maryland legislative audit recommended that Maryland create a process to verify that WMATA's annual operating and capital grant subsidies are properly calculated. But Rahn writes that WMATA was unwilling to comply with these audits and refused to provide data requested for auditing its fiscal year 2017 capital program.
Rahn says operating funds from Maryland to WMATA won't be affected.
