By : Subuk Hasnain
Wed, 11/20/2013 - 3:46pm
Regional Transportation Authority Board members on Wednesday signed off on the agency’s final audit of Metra’s settlement with former Metra CEO Alex Clifford. According to testimony at Wednesday’s meeting, the agencies will now focus on how to offset payments to Clifford.
Clifford resigned in June pursuant to a severance agreement worth up to $871,000. Metra approved the agreement to avoid a potential lawsuit that the former CEO had threatened to file against the agency.
The necessity of the agreement was questioned by many following its approval. According to a preliminary audit released by the RTA in August, an employee practice liability policy could have covered the lawsuit costs after Metra had paid the $100,000 deductible. RTA Board members had asked Metra to look further into this liability policy, but acknowledged that the RTA did not have the authority to withhold the settlement payment.
With no way to affect the settlement payments, RTA Board member Dwight Magalis insisted that the RTA and Metra should now consider options that will allow them to recover some of the lost money.
When asked how they will account for payments to Clifford, RTA Executive Director Joseph Costello said, “The staff will do as directed by the RTA Board.” He cautioned that there are still several questions to be considered.
According to Michael Zumach, deputy executive director of RTA’s audit department, Metra’s general counsel was working on a recovery strategy. He noted that Metra currently spends more than is necessary for the services of a public relations firm hired under Clifford. Zumach explained that Metra will see savings after the contract with that firm ends, helping to offset some of the settlement with Clifford. While testifying on Wednesday, Zumach said he planned to receive an update from Metra’s general counsel on the specifics of that contract.
The RTA’s final audit report contains several recommendations regarding how Metra can improve its system of governance and make sure it does not run into similar problems in the future. According to the report, Metra’s human resources staff is already “developing a formal performance evaluation process for the new executive director,” a procedure that Zumach said did not exist during Clifford’s tenure.
During Wednesday’s meeting, RTA Board Chairman John Gates asked about the ongoing investigation concerning Clifford’s accusations that Metra officials had engaged in acts of unlawful political patronage. In response, Zumach explained that the RTA did not have any updates regarding the investigation and that such information is “confidential between Clifford and the investigative group.”
This article was originally published on the Daily Whale website in 2013.