Administrative Structure and Hosting of Metropolitan Planning Organizations

Abstract

Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are required to undertake a federally mandated transportation planning and programming process. Although federal law mandates the process and documents that it must be adopted, the law is completely silent on how the MPO should be organized and administered. It has long been known that some MPOs operate as independent agencies, while others depend on a host agency to provide goods and services to support the MPO. Using results from a national survey of MPOs, this paper discusses the administrative structure of MPOs, including the prevalence of hosted MPOs, the types of host agencies, indirect charges, and the advantages of being hosted versus independent. The survey found that 69% of MPOs were hosted by another agency. Regional councils (26%) were the largest host of MPOs, but municipalities (20%) and counties (20%) were also commonly reported. MPOs gave narrative responses about the perceived advantages and disadvantages of their individual administrative structure. The major advantages of hosting included lower overall costs, staff synergies, and agency name recognition. The major disadvantages identified included lack of capital float, difficulty meeting federal match requirements, and confusion in managerial independence. Five distinct types of MPO organizational structures were identified, and the common attributes of each type were discussed. The paper concludes by addressing important issues MPOs must consider when choosing between a hosted MPO administrative structure and an independent one.