Chamber says hike T boss pay to attract top talent
Biz group suggests up to $500K range
One of the region’s leading business groups called for the Healey administration to offer the next leader of the MBTA a sizable pay raise, arguing that the agency needs better compensation to attract talented candidates to the challenging job.
The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce commissioned an analysis of how top officials are paid at other major U.S. transit systems, which prompted it to suggest the T provide whatever candidate Gov. Maura Healey selects a base compensation package “in the range of $450,000 to $500,000.”
That would represent a more than 30% raise over the base salary that MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak earned in his final year holding the post.
“This is about the future of the service, safety, and culture of the MBTA, and to ensure success, we must invest in hiring the best expert to lead the system forward. This is a long-term investment in a role that will stabilize and transform our T, which is for the benefit of the people of Massachusetts,” said Chamber President and CEO James Rooney.
Poftak, who held the GM post for four years under former Gov. Charlie Baker and resigned just before Healey took office, earned $339,144.92 in base pay in 2022, plus $78,585 in “other pay” reflecting performance bonuses, according to state payroll records maintained by the comptroller’s office.
He did not earn any such bonuses the year before, when his 2021 total compensation consisted entirely of $324,800 in base pay.
Executive Rewards Advisory, the firm tapped by the Chamber, pulled together compensation figures for eight other transit agencies, based in all but one case on press reporting and not from the agencies themselves or contract paperwork.
Based on the figures Executive Rewards Advisory published, Poftak’s base pay last year would rank second to last among the salary figures for the field, only surpassing the $313,813 that New Jersey Transit paid to Kevin Corbett. However, Poftak’s total compensation, including his bonuses, of $417,729.92 would be fourth on the list, behind the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Toronto Transit Commission and San Francisco’s BART.
Chamber officials pointed specifically to WMATA as the most recent to hire a top executive. Last year, WMATA hired former MBTA chief safety officer and assistant general manager Randy Clarke on a fiveyear contract with an annual salary of $485,000 and up to a 10% annual bonus.
State Street CEO Ronald O’Hanley, who chairs the Greater Boston Chamber’s board, said in a statement that his company’s employees “depend on the MBTA every day.”
“We must have a leader who can successfully manage and inspire confidence in our public transportation system. And, for every community in Massachusetts,
the T is a lifeline and resource that is a necessity,” O’Hanley said.
Healey has not yet named a permanent general manager 10 weeks after she tapped search firm Krauthamer & Associates to launch a nationwide search and eight weeks after she took the oath of office.