Draft Timeline for Boston Region MOU/Operations Plan 2022/09/16

Month	Administrative/Governance	TIP	Coordination
October	Start of new federal fiscal year (Oct 1) New MPO members announced at MAPC Fall Council Meeting Changes to the election procedures may be presented to the MPO (Oct–Dec or Jun–Jul) The Regional Transportation Advisory Council (Advisory Council) provides the MPO Board with advice in setting policy and work priorities for CTPS (Oct–Jan)	MPO staff develop and MPO Board approves a TIP Development Memorandum describing the FFY process for developing the TIP The MPO board reviews and if desired begins an update to the TIP selection criteria (Oct–Jan)	Implementing agencies submit project status information and other issues of interest to the Boston Region MPO Chair and MPO staff for coordination and distribution to MPO members (Quarterly: October, January, April, and July; and on request)
November	New MPO members (four municipalities annually) start terms (Nov 1) Vice chair shall be elected to a one-year term (at first MPO meeting following municipal election results) The MPO shall appoint committees it determines necessary and task forces to accomplish its business and assign duties to them (at first MPO meeting following municipal election results)	MPO staff presents a project universe for the next year’s TIP to the MPO Board MPO staff publishes TIP project-selection criteria, application of the criteria in project evaluations, and the Universe of Projects for the TIP
December		MPO staff posts obligated project lists which summarize how projects fared in the previous fiscal year before asking the MPO to vote on the new TIP.	MassDOT cooperatively develops the statewide federal aid and non-federal aid highway funding estimate with MARPA and MPO staff
January		MPO staff share draft project scores to project proponents for their feedback	MassDOT presents and explains the funding estimate at the annual MARPA meeting, providing additional information as requested At the annual MARPA meeting, MassDOT also proposes its priorities for projects with costs that will be subtracted from the federal obligation authority of the state, including non-High Priority Projects, mega-projects, statewide infrastructure, change orders, planning, statewide CMAQ expenditures, and other items. Implementing agencies submit project status information and other issues of interest to the Boston Region MPO Chair and MPO staff for coordination and distribution to MPO members (Quarterly and on request)
February		MPO staff present the TIP target funds for the TIP being developed, using the federal and non-federal aid amount and the state match announced at the MARPA meeting MPO staff shares MassDOT’s priorities for projects with costs that will be subtracted from the federal obligation authority of the state presented at the annual MARPA meeting. MPO staff work with MassDOT’s Rail and Transit Division and coordinate RTA investment with the MPO when setting priorities for TIP programming.
March		MPO staff present project scores to the MPO Board MPO staff and MassDOT staff present TIP project readiness updates to the MPO Board MPO staff develop programming scenarios for the TIP in development for the MPO board to discuss MPO Board selects a final programming scenario for the TIP in development.
April	MPO Board and MPO staff review the MOU, which shall be reviewed every year, beginning in April	MPO staff produce a draft TIP document MPO Board votes to release draft TIP document in development for public review	Implementing agencies submit project status information and other issues of interest to the Boston Region MPO Chair and MPO staff for coordination and distribution to MPO members (Quarterly and on request)
May	MPO Board or staff circulate the latest MOU document to the municipalities of the MPO	MPO Board endorses the TIP
June	MPO Board approves the process of nominating and electing the twelve other municipal members (Mid-June to Mid-July)
July			Implementing agencies submit project status information and other issues of interest to the Boston Region MPO Chair and MPO staff for coordination and distribution to MPO members (Quarterly and on request)
August	The MPO Board adopts an annual UPWP for the region Elections of municipal board members (4 annually), administered by MAPC and MBTA Advisory Board (Aug–Oct)
September	Elections of municipal board members (4 annually), administered by MAPC and MBTA Advisory Board (Aug–Oct) End of Federal Fiscal Year on September 30	MPO staff and the MPO Board discuss and decide on the TIP development process for the upcoming TIP in the first quarter of each federal fiscal year (mid-Sep-Mid/late Oct)

Other Required MPO Documents Not Approved Annually:

While they are not annual documents, and may not fit into this framework, the board must approve the

LRTP - updated every four years, typically approved by MPO in June.
PEP - updated as needed. Can be approved anytime of the year by the MPO.
Title VI Program - typically updated every three years or when MassDOT ODCR asks for it. Can be approved anytime of the year by the MPO.
Coordinated Public Transit–Human Services Transportation Plan - updated every four years, typically in conjunction with the LRTP and approved by MPO by the end of that federal fiscal year.
Congestion Management Process (CMP) - no set time frame to update, updated “periodically”. The last report was updated in 2012 and will be updated this coming FFY 2023.

Ongoing Items Throughout the Year:

The MOU states that the MPO shall provide the Regional Transportation Advisory Council with information and analysis in the form of reports, briefings, and discussion concerning their plans, programs, and priorities so that the Advisory Council can carry out its functions in a timely fashion
The MOU also states that "members shall support the Advisory Council by individually rendering institutional support and also by attending the Advisory Council meetings, as practical."
Also, the MOU states "All members of the Boston Region MPO, however, shall have a role in informing local governments about transportation aid and the programming process and in considering local input to the Boston Region MPO.”