TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM

 

DATE:   July 20, 2023

TO:       Unified Planning Work Program Committee

FROM:  Tegin Teich, Executive Director
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

RE:        Recommended Revisions to the Unified Planning Work Program

 

 

The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) is a one-year budget and planning document representing the entire body of work that that the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staff expect to undertake over the next federal fiscal year (FFY). The work described in the UPWP includes our core MPO programs, research projects, technical assistance, and professional development activities, among other initiatives. Each UPWP represents staff’s best understanding at the time of how federal and matching funds should be allocated to best meet the needs of the region in the following year. Each year during the third quarter, staff assess progress and recommend a slate of budget adjustments for the fourth quarter of the current FFY. Those recommended adjustments are summarized in Table 1, which forms Amendment Two to the FFY 2023 UPWP. The adjustments represent a transfer of funds between line items, resulting in a net zero impact on the UPWP budget.

 

Each UPWP must be substantially developed in the third quarter of the prior FFY so that a draft can be presented in July and approved in August. As a result, initial budget estimates for the work of the MPO staff in any given FFY are developed approximately six months before the work commences. During the FFY, MPO staff track spending and summarize updates for the UPWP Committee on a quarterly basis using the Schedule of Operations. Once work is in progress, needs or expectations may shift, and staff’s understanding of those needs and the best approach to completing work evolves. To adapt to these conditions throughout the FFY, in the third quarter, staff perform a thorough assessment and make recommendations on adjustments to the fourth quarter budgets. The assessment includes analyzing past spending patterns and anticipating specific fourth quarter needs.

 

 

In addition to the normal evolution of work as it progresses, unanticipated influences on spending budgets described in the UPWP include staff attrition and the time it takes to recruit and train new staff. While we use and reallocate staff capacity as fluidly as possible to meet project needs, staffing gaps can result in lower expenditures than initially expected on certain UPWP line items. Over the past year, the context of the highly competitive job market has made recruitment more challenging. To be responsive to the job market, we have also increased staff salaries more than initially assumed. Both of these factors have significantly impacted project budgets. One example includes the increased budget in the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which is due to an unanticipated delay in FFY 2022 work because of staff capacity and then the departure of the staff managing the LRTP in FFY 2023 resulting in the need to engaging multiple staff on an interim basis to further support the process.

 

Thank you for your time in reviewing these recommended adjustments and considering them for recommending to the full MPO board for approval. MPO staff would be happy to discuss and to answer any questions from UPWP Committee members.