DATE: September 10, 2026
TO: Brian Kane, Chair of Administration and Finance Committee
FROM: Tegin Teich, Executive Director of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
RE: Progress towards SFY 2026 Goals and Establishing SFY 2027 Goals
Approximately each quarter, I submit updates towards reaching my goals, set as Executive Director of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) each state fiscal year (SFY). This memo summarizes the completion of SFY 2026 goals as well as the goals I set for SFY 2027. The goals are defined in my SFY 2026 annual review, which was conducted with the Boston Region MPO’s chair, vice chair, and the chair of the Administration and Finance Committee.
The SFY 2026 goals documented in my evaluation have been substantially completed. Details on each goal follow in this section. More information on steps towards each goal can be found in memos sent to the Administration and Finance Committee throughout SFY 2026.
Goal: Continue to explore the feasibility of advancing a branding initiative and enhancing the agency’s public presence.
Ongoing
In the context of constrained capacity, we elected to further delay the branding initiative. However, we continued work towards enhancing the agency’s public presence by advancing extensive work on the website, holding a successful Annual Meeting, and engaging with press requests so that the agency’s work was featured more accurately in articles and press. I participated in a number of nationally relevant workshops and events, many of which were funded by other national associations rather than the MPO. We also continued to advance opportunities to educate stakeholders on the work of the MPO, presenting to other agency staff and at professional development forums for nonprofits.
Goal: Maintain similar levels of participation in professional development opportunities (primarily, conferences).
Complete
In SFY 2026, similar levels of resources were allocated to professional development compared to prior years. We have also implemented a practice of sharing what staff learned to the agency to enhance the value of the investments.
Goal: Continue process of refining multiyear plans (MYP).
Complete
In SFY 2026, we completed an agency-wide update of 13 MYPs, with refinements to the process. We also piloted an approach to coordinating several of the program managers with MYPs on their near-term deliverables. These MYPs again served as a basis for developing the annual work plan write-ups for the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP).
Goal: Develop a draft agency action plan to help guide Long-Range Transportation Plan development.
Ongoing
This initiative is complex and multiyear. In SFY 2026, we launched the first of four strategic initiatives that define overarching priorities for the organization for the next 3-5 years. We piloted a strategic initiative called “Planning to Implementation.” Two managers are leading this effort, coordinating with leadership team members and staff to identify gaps and opportunities to increase the connectivity between the MPO’s planning work to projects that are funded for construction. As a result of this work, we are establishing the effort to develop a fully integrated project pipeline from planning to capital funding as an agency-wide priority.
Goal: Advance concept of a pipeline of planning to project funding through technical assistance and planning work.
Ongoing
In addition to the contributions of the strategic initiative described above to this goal, we also advanced quick-build demonstration projects to demonstrate that the MPO can make interim steps between planning and full-scale construction. These were supported by two grant-funded research and planning projects: Neutralizing Onerous Heat Effects on Active Transportation (NO-HEAT), funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Vision Zero, funded by federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants. Phase 2 of the NO-HEAT involved designing and implementing pilot cooling strategies in the spring of 2026, such as shaded routes to make walking and biking safer, more comfortable, and more accessible. Last fall, staff coordinated with federal partners to launch a second awarded discretionary SS4A grant to pilot quick-build, traffic-calming projects paired with outreach and education to test how different strategies perform in urban and suburban contexts as a step toward more permanent implementations. Design for those demonstration projects began in SFY 2026.
Goal: Continue to explore ways to expand board engagement in staff work.
Complete
We expanded board engagement in several ways. We have expanded the scope of the UPWP Committee to be more engaged in the MPO’s programmatic work as well as the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) work funded with federal PL dollars, beyond discrete studies.
We launched the Community Advisory Council, which has deepened relationships with community organizations and incorporated historically underrepresented perspectives into MPO decision-making.
Finally, in December, we engaged our board’s subregional representatives in a new Regionwide Transportation Planning Fall Meeting. Subregional board member representatives facilitated breakout sessions to discuss the transportation needs of their subregions.
Goal: New Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) policy implemented in the development of the 2027–31 TIP
Complete
For the FFY 2027–31 TIP development cycle, the board voted to implement the staff-designed readiness and cost policy, supporting more effective decision-making. This new policy
Goal: Complete a full refresh of the compensation plan.
Ongoing
Work towards the Compensation Plan refresh in SFY 2026 included
In parallel, we also engaged the compensation consultant to support staff education regarding the development and implementation of the plan, as requested by staff. This work will continue into SFY 2027.
Goal: Support internal working group in identifying improvements for staff recruitment and onboarding.
Complete/Ongoing
SFY 2026 was a busy year in support of the agency’s Ideas Group, a staff working group to support diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) work. The Ideas Group refined its charter with leadership team input and support and presented it to all staff.
We engaged YW Boston to carry out the first organization-wide DEIA Action Plan, completed in September, with input from the Ideas Group. This initiative included intensive dialogue sessions with groups of staff, focus groups, and an equity review of policies and practices. The dialogue sessions and review helped identify the types of recruitment and onboarding improvements that could be made at the agency.
This work is anticipated to continue over years.
Goal: Operate with neither a significant deficit nor surplus (within 0–5%).
Complete
The agency practiced careful financial management in SFY 2026 with a year-end surplus of $5,400.
Goal: Maintain stability for existing staff in the context of fiscal uncertainty.
Complete
We continue to plan in the context of uncertainty, creating various scenarios that assume differing levels of competitive grant revenue. Our PL and 5303 formula dollars have remained relatively flat, but with the success related to discretionary grants and with the natural attrition and hiring gaps, I felt confident in pursuing relatively standard merit-based salary adjustments this year.
We strive to spend the formula funds included in the MPO’s annual combined PL and 5303 contract in any given year. When we plan our budget and available funds for salary adjustments, we do not assume that there is attrition, because we would be vulnerable to overspending if our assumptions were incorrect. However, 11 full-time employees retired or left the agency in SFY 2026. We have onboarded 10 to replace those vacancies, but several additional positions remain open as we are in the first quarter of the SFY 2027 and final quarter of the FFY 2026. The gap between staff departures and filling vacant roles means we are at no risk of overspending our Combined PL and 5303, but it does mean that we may have unspent funding that contributes to our deobligated PL balance. We have the opportunity to request access to that funding from Massachusetts Department of Transportation each year as we plan the following year’s UPWP.
The following goals were established though my annual review process in SFY 2026. In collaboration with the Boston Region MPO’s chair, vice chair, and chair of the Administration and Finance Committee, I listed the following as my focus areas for SFY 2027.
Civil Rights Notice to the Public
Welcome. Bem Vinda. Bienvenido. Akeyi. 欢迎. 歡迎
You are invited to participate in our transportation planning process, free from discrimination. The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is committed to nondiscrimination in all activities and complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency). Related federal and state nondiscrimination laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, disability, and additional protected characteristics.
For additional information or to file a civil rights complaint, visit
www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination.
To request this information in a different language or format, please contact:
Boston Region MPO Title VI Specialist
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 857.702.3700
Email: civilrights@ctps.org
For people with hearing or speaking difficulties, connect through the state MassRelay service, www.mass.gov/massrelay. Please allow at least five business days for your request to be fulfilled.