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Boston council’s subpoena of MBTA chief faces uncertain path to enforcement
The City Council wants MBTA General Manager Phil Eng to testify about a $164 million Blue Hill Avenue redesign at a Nov. 6 hearing. But Eng and the transit agency have not said whether he will appear, and enforcing the subpoena could require a court fight over the council’s authority.
The Boston City Council’s effort to compel MBTA General Manager Phil Eng to answer questions about a proposed $164 million redesign of Blue Hill Avenue could face legal and political hurdles, attorneys and former councilors say.
The council voted last week to subpoena Eng, an unusual move for a body that has issued only one other subpoena in more than a decade. The subpoena seeks his testimony at a Nov. 6 hearing about the controversial project.
As of Oct. 27, neither Eng nor the MBTA had said whether he would comply. If he does not, the council may need to hire its own lawyers and ask a court to enforce the order, according to the legal observers. A central question would be whether Boston’s council has authority to subpoena an employee of the state-run transit agency.
The dispute puts the council’s oversight effort up against questions about the limits of its power. Eng’s appearance could give councilors another opportunity to question the MBTA about a major street project affecting Boston neighborhoods, but the hearing’s outcome remains uncertain.