Metra consultant getting for $112,500 for 4 months work

Metra board directors swallowed hard and approved a four-month, $112,500 contract for consultant Avery Grimes to assist CEO Alex Clifford Friday.

The vote came after Clifford scaled down his request from a six-month, $225,000 contract.

Clifford said Grimes, who started in April, has been crucial in helping pick up the pieces after scandal rocked the commuter rail agency in 2010. Former CEO Phil Pagano committed suicide that year amid an investigation into financial misdeeds, including swindling about $475,000 in unauthorized vacation pay.

The contract was not bid out competitively. Clifford said Grimes had cut his rate from $275 an hour to $200.

The timing couldn't have been worse for Grimes' contract as Metra is in the midst of proposing a 25 percent fare hike to avert a $53 million 2012 budget shortfall.

But directors such as William Widmer said Grimes was worth his salt.

Widmer, a labor attorney, said consultants in his field charge hourly rates topping out at $700. “I'm greatly impressed by his breadth of knowledge,” he said.

Grimes has a doctorate in civil engineering and years of experience in transportation with jobs at railroads such as Union Pacific. He recently consulted for Southern California's Metrolink, which was undergoing a similar crisis.

Clifford said Grimes is essential for a variety of duties including budgeting, evaluating staff, labor talks, negotiations with railroads, and assessing the computer system.

Director Jack Schaffer of Cary acknowledged there's “a limited talent pool,” for transit and railroad expertise.

“The timing's difficult with the fare increase but it's obvious with the hole we're dug into that you need to have help,” Metra Director Paul Darley of Elmhurst said.

The cost of Grimes salary will be offset by other top-level executive vacancies, Clifford said.