iStock photo / File

Preparing to sign off this summer after five years of overseeing the T, the Fiscal and Management Control Board urged lawmakers to act by mid-spring to put a successor organization in place.

The FMCB “strongly encourage(d)” the legislature to kick off the transition by May 16, which is 45 days before the existing board’s authorization expires on June 30. In its final annual report approved Monday, the FMCB wrote that “a strong and coordinated transition will be helpful to all.”

The board, which Gov. Charlie Baker formed following the disastrous winter of 2015 and later extended until 2020, also echoed a safety panel’s recommendation that its current meeting schedule is too laborious and distracts staff from other needs. It called for a new requirement of 15 public meetings per year, with safety a topic at every single one, rather than the current standard of 36 per year.

Baker said in December he planned to file legislation in January with a lower meeting threshold. His office did not provide any updates on the status of the bill when asked this week.

Despite touting its own progress toward a smaller annual budget deficit, various infrastructure improvements and more, the FMCB said the MBTA still faces significant challenges with safety culture and hiring and retaining qualified staff that the next oversight body will need to address.

“Out-of-date recruitment, compensation, and professional development packages represent an urgent situation at the T that must be addressed,” the board wrote.