The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is investigating missing parking payments after officials discovered discrepancies between how many cars were parking in some of its lots managed by a contractor and how much money officials should have been collecting.
The MBTA, Transit Police, and the state Department of Transportation are focusing on three lots managed by LAZ Parking, a national parking management company that owns several large lots in the Boston area, MBTA officials told the authority’s fiscal control board Monday. If the T is able to document that money is missing, LAZ would have to repay the T double the amount, plus fines, according to the T’s contract.
“To make sure that we’re exercising our contractual rights, we need to do the audit,’’ Stephanie Pollack, the state’s transportation secretary, told reporters after the meeting.
Officials have not said how much money they suspect is missing or whether a criminal investigation is underway. Joe Pesaturo,MBTA spokesman, said referring the matter to police was “the prudent thing to do.’’
“They have the capability to determine if charges are warranted or not,’’ he wrote in an e-mail.
According to officials, T employees identified missing parking payments at three of the T’s parking facilities managed by LAZ: North Quincy/Hancock, Lechmere, and Riverside.
LAZ was alerted to the discrepancy in April and has fired two employees for not following proper procedures, according to John Englander, general counsel for the state transportation department and the MBTA.
After LAZ conducted its own investigation, the company said it found no revenue loss at Riverside. LAZ officials said that monthly permit holders, who receive a discount, made it appear as if not enough money had been collected. An LAZ Parking Boston representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
MBTA officials pulled in Transit Police and MassDOT audit department investigators to conduct an audit that is still ongoing, officials said. MassDOT also hired a parking audit specialist, Peter Dane, to help with the investigation, which was first reported by Commonwealth Magazine.
Officials expect to conclude their investigation by July, Englander said.
The T is directly involved with 108 of its 140 parking lots or garages; others are partially or fully managed by a city or regional transit authority.
The T has long had a relationship with LAZ Parking, which manages its garages under a five-year contract that ends in January 2018. The company receives $9.1 million per year for managing the parking lots, excluding reimbursements, according to officials. The MBTA can terminate the LAZ contract at any time with 30 days’ notice.
The investigation comes as the MBTA searches for ways to improve its parking management. It recently put out a so-called request for proposals, said Bryan Gubbins, director of MassDOT’s real estate division.
The T’s gross parking revenue in the 2016 fiscal year was flat, at about $42 million, but officials are projecting growth of up to $43.5 million next year. That would equal a little more than 2 percent of the MBTA’s annual budget.
Also on Monday, officials released figures that they said show they are reducing overtime costs. Overtime costs and hours were down 45 percent and 43 percent, respectively, for the first four months of this year, compared to last year.
Chief administrator Brian Shortsleeve said the changes stem from a renewed focus on the overtime issue and new policies — as well as drastically better winter weather.
In 2015, the Boston area faced record-breaking snowfall that hobbled the transit system.
In 2015, the T spent $56.3 million on overtime. Officials said they want to reduce overtime expenses by 25 percent in 2016.
Nicole Dungca can be reached at nicole.dungca@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @ndungca.
