suffers from*

The VTA Board, currently made up exclusively of elected officials from the Santa Clara County, Board of Supervisors, the City of San José and the other smaller cities in the County, suffers from: A lack of experience, continuity and leadership; Inadequate time for the directors to devote to their duties to the VTA Board due to their primary focus on the demands of their elected positions; A lack of engagement on the part of some directors, fostered in part by the committee system, resulting in VTA functioning largely as a staff-driven organization; • Domination, in terms of numbers, seniority and influence, by representatives of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the City of San José; and Frequent tension between the director's fiduciary duties to VTA and its regional role, on the one hand, and the political demands of their local elected positions, on the other. Heart of Silicon Valley™ City of Sunnyvale's Grand Jury Response Sunnyvale September 12, 2019 Response to Finding 1 –DISAGREE PARTIALLY A lack of experience, continuity and leadership Response to Finding 1, bullet point 1 – DISAGREE PARTIALLY The present structure of the Valley Transportation Authority is set by the Public Utilities Code and was established to provide representation to the cities and County within Santa Clara County. Each jurisdiction is different in how they provide representation to VTA and depending on that jurisdiction, its election cycle and appointments to VTA, there can, at times, be a lack of experience and continuity. The leadership component will inevitably vary over time based on the makeup of the Board and the Chair. Sunnyvale feels the Grand Jury's finding that the VTA Board "suffers from" ... a lack of leadership to be overly broad. While there will inevitably be differences of opinion with respect to decisions made by the VTA Board, it's not clear that the Board lacks leadership. Inadequate time for the directors to devote to their duties to the VTA Board due . to their primary focus on the demands of their elected positions <u>Response to Finding 1, bullet point 2 – DISAGREE PARTIALLY</u> The representation to the VTA Board is comprised of representatives from various agencies. The Directors have other responsibilities to their jurisdiction and may also be employed (part-time or full-time) separately as well. As such, each representative to VTA is different and depending on the jurisdiction and representative the time devoted to their duties to the VTA will vary. Overall, Sunnyvale believes that VTA considers issues thoroughly by using its committee structure, and provides ample opportunities for public input before decisions are made. It's not clear that if Board members spent more time on decisions that policy outcomes would be significantly different. A lack of engagement on the part of some directors, fostered in part by the committee system, resulting in VTA functioning largely as a staff-driven organization Response to Finding 1, bullet point 3 – DISAGREE PARTIALLY The representation to the VTA Board is comprised of representatives from various agencies. The Board members have other responsibilities to their City of Sunnyvale's Grand Jury Response Sunnyvale September 12, 2019 jurisdiction and may also be employed (part-time or full-time) separately as well. As such, each representative to VTA is different and depending on the jurisdiction and the representative, the time engaged in their duties to the VTA will vary. The lack of engagement by some Directors does not in itself create a staff-driven organization. The staff is tasked with providing information to the Board to receive policy direction and guidance for the organization. The engagement level of the Directors doesn't directly affect the authority staff has in decision making. Domination, in terms of numbers, seniority and influence, by representatives of 0 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the City of San José Response to Finding 1, bullet point 4 - AGREE The present structure of the Valley Transportation Authority is set by the Public Utilities Code and was established to provide representation to the cities and County within Santa Clara County. It's important to note that all the County Board of Supervisor districts include a portion of the City of San Jose. This results in a total of seven VTA Directors that represent San Jose (at least partially) with only five that represent the 14 other cities in the County. Frequent tension between the director's fiduciary duties to VTA and its regional role, on the one hand, and the political demands of their local elected positions, on the other - <u>Response to Finding 1, bullet point 5 – DISAGREE PARTIALLY</u> The present structure of the Valley Transportation Authority is set by the Public Utilities Code and was established to provide representation to the cities and County within Santa Clara County. Each Director has a challenge in balancing the needs of the region and the needs of the jurisdiction that they represent. Each jurisdiction is different in how they provide representation to VTA and depending on that jurisdiction, its election cycle and appointments to VTA, there can, at times, be a more difficult struggle to balance those two needs. The frequency of occurrence of this type of conflict is not a constant struggle for the Board, it happens on various occasions, but does not define the decision-making process for the Board.