GAO Says Metro Board Micromanages

The GAO has been looking into Metro's Board for almost two years, and it says board members are far too involved in the nitty gritty of the organization, things like hiring and firing, as well as what types of ceramic tiles to use in train stations, and what color the seats in train cars should be.

This is the result of poorly defined job descriptions for the board, according to the GAO report.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton says Metro's board should behave more like a corporation and less like a political body.

"[The board] should've been focused on more strategic issues, should've been focused more on making sure the management was doing its job, instead of actually taking the place of the managers," he says.

The board acknowledges the problem and is currently rewriting its bylaws to make this happen. But Connaughton and his counterparts in D.C. and Maryland may force Metro to make additional changes based on the GAO report.