Metra head lays out reforms

Newly minted Metra Executive Director Alex Clifford laid out an action plan at a special board meeting Friday to explain how he plans to put reforms in place at the troubled transit agency, focusing on overtime claims and technology needs.

But at the same time, Clifford asked for — and received — permission from the board of directors to negotiate a no-bid contract with one of the consulting firms that recommended the reforms.

That company, Chicago-based tax consulting and auditing firm Blackman Kallick, has already been paid $500,000. It needs more time to complete a “risk management” proposal it had outlined, Clifford said, saying he was in negotiations with the company but the amount would come in at less than $500,000 this time.

Clifford recommended an extension because Blackman Kallick were now “experts in this organization.”

“This is going to result in significantly less time and cost than to go out through the traditional (bidding process),” said board member Arlene Mulder.

Blackman Kallick was one of two consultants brought in last year to perform studies on the agency’s operations following revelations that former Executive Director Phil Pagano had taken more $400,000 from the agency during his tenure. Pagano killed himself in May after the allegations were revealed by stepping in front of an oncoming Metra train near his house near Crystal Lake.

Hillard Heintze was the other consulting firm. That firm’s report indicated no “widespread or institutionalized fraud,” but recognized several areas of needed improvement.

Among the changes Clifford announced Friday was an examination of overtime expenses. He told the board he will personally review each month’s overtime reports to help ferret out abuses and fraud, specifically in the Metra Police Department. Clifford said he is commissioning a comprehensive review of that department’s organizational structure, responsibilities and contracts.

Metra is instituting a “zero tolerance policy for fraud and abuse,” Clifford said. “We will not accept ethical lapses.”

Additionally, Clifford said the agency needs to upgrade its technology. The Blackman Kallick report identified inefficiencies created by outdated or absent technology platforms or applications. Clifford told the board he would return to them with cost estimates and a prioritization list in the near future. Some of the agency’s computer operations still rely on a mainframe computer system, he said.

While the technology shortcomings create inefficiencies at Metra, Clifford said those issues did not contribute to Pagano’s ability to defraud the agency.