While their repair backlog continued to grow, along with outstanding rent arrears, TCHC brass spent 18 months and $240,000 on consultant studies to determine whether their pay and perqs were high enough, the Toronto Sun has learned.

According to documents obtained through the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), the $240,000 spent was nearly three times what was originally budgeted in December 2013, when Gene Jones was still CEO.

In the end, according to information provided to the Sun, the board of directors decided not to pursue the recommendations of the Mercer consultation project — which went through three increases in cost from the original $68,730 to $175,000 — as to what 200 non-union employees should be paid.

What transpired during those 18 months typifies everything that is wrong with TCHC — most particularly the secrecy to the point of utter ridiculousness and the bumbling of a consulting project, which was allowed to balloon unchecked.

According to the reams of paperwork finally provided to the Toronto Sun after four months of foot-dragging and $235 for the cost of an FOI, the initial $68,730 cost of the Mercer Compensation Review project jumped by $18,000 in April 2014 with the approval of Anand Maharaj, a vice-president of human resources, just before he left the organization.

In September 2014, four months after Pamela Spencer took over Maharaj’s position on an interim basis, the scope of the project changed again increasing the cost to $124,712 (plus HST and expenses) to include “additional hands-on assistance from Mercer” communicating with employees and meeting with the board when the project was done.

At that point, $60,712 had already been billed, even though the project had apparently been on hold since March.

According to TCHC spokesperson Lisa Murray, Spencer also renegotiated an additional Mercer project on pay-for-performance for $14,000 which had not yet been started.

The project increased again by $50,000 this past March so that Mercer could evaluate four TCHC vice-president roles (this alone cost $14,500) and conduct other job evaluations.

Meanwhile, to fulfill the requirements of an August, 2014 request from city council, TCHC engaged Global Governance Advisors (GGA) last January to look at pay and bonuses for TCHC’s seven senior executives

The final GGA report — which cost $26,000 with HST — was provided to the Sun. The final Mercer report was not.

Another $24,000 was spent on legal counsel to “advise on labour relations and employment law matters,” confirmed Christian Buhagiar, chairman of TCHC’s Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (GCHRCC).

Murray also confirmed last Friday that the GCHRCC decided not to approve the pay scales proposed in the Mercer report at its March 23 meeting.

Why? According to a source, Mercer had proposed the wages of the 200 non-union jobs be compared to the private sector — while GGA had recommended that the executive wages match similar jobs at the City of Toronto.

Buhagiar said that on April 30, the TCHC board decided that the seven TCHC executive officers (studied by GGA) and the 200 non-union jobs (contained in the Mercer study) be paid in sync with similar jobs at the City of Toronto.

“We came to an epiphany during the winter (asking ourselves) why aren’t we just not using the city’s system and banding (comparing) against the system that the city already has since we’re an extension of them,” Buhagiar said.

On May 6, the Sun asked TCHC media spokesperson Sara Goldvine (currently on maternity leave) a number of questions on the decisions surrounding Mercer and GGA reports after they were discussed at that April 30 board meeting. Goldvine refused to release any details.

Yet, a May 13 letter to acting city manager John Livey from Buhagiar and TCHC Chairman Bud Purves, finally provided to the Toronto Sun last Friday, confirmed what happened on April 30. It says that in addition to paying all execs and the 200 non-union jobs salaries comparable to the City of Toronto, bonuses of 20% will end and TCHC will adopt the same merit pay scheme used by the city.

(That scheme involves a lump sum payment of 1%, 2.5% or 4.5% of an employee’s current salary, depending on whether they do their jobs or go beyond expectations.)

It is interesting to note GGA’s comparison of the city’s salaries with what many of the top TCHC executives made last year, appears to show that all of them are right within the range, or near the top of the proposed range.

When I suggested to Buhagiar that TCHC essentially threw $190,000 down the drain (on the Mercer studies) to reach a foregone conclusion, he argued that Mercer did a “significant amount of work” on job descriptions and that this “foundational work” comprised a good bulk of the money paid out.

He said he was not privy to the three change orders to the Mercer project — that those were “within management’s purview.” But he did confirm Mercer is “completely finished” the project.

Efforts to get comments from Mercer were unsuccessful. Spokesman Annette Casey advised me by e-mail I was welcome to send questions but they would not comment on specific work done for a client. After I sent my questions, I did not receive any acknowledgement, let alone answers.

Murray said all of the change orders were in compliance with TCHC’s procurement procedures and “approved directly” by the vendor approval committee, on which sits managers from TCHC’s legal, procurement and finance departments.

A timeline on what transpired with the studies and with the Toronto Sun’s request for information:

Dec. 4, 2013: Initial contract for $68,730 ( plus HST and out-of-pocket expenses) signed with Mercer Canada to update job evaluations and pay scales for 200 non-union TCHC employees from senior directors on down.

April 16, 2014: Scope of services expanded by $18,000 (plus HST) for more employee sessions by Anand Maharaj, vice-president of human resources, bringing project to $86,730, after project put on hold in March.

Late April, 2014: CEO Gene Jones and Maharaj depart TCHC and Pamela Spencer takes over as acting vice-president of human resources.

Sept. 12, 2014: Contract with Mercer re-scoped bringing costs to $124,712 (plus HST and expenses). Spencer signs the new contract acknowledging $60,711 already spent on the project.

Sept. 15, 2014: Spencer renegotiates fees down to $14,000 (plus HST) from $21,000 for a separate pay-for-performance project initiated by Maharaj but never started. That project delivered end of December 2014.

Jan. 26, 2015: Another contract for $20,000 (plus HST) signed with Global Governance Advisors to come up with an executive compensation policy for seven top executives including interim CEO Greg Spearn and General Counsel Pamela Spencer. Contract signed by Christian Buhagair, chair of the Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (GCHRCC).

March 2, 2015: Mercer contract jumps by another $44,500.

March 6, 2015: Mercer awarded another $50,000 on an urgent basis. Direct award — requested by Spencer — signed off by Spearn and three others.

March 20, 2015: Asked initial questions of media spokesperson Sara Goldvine about cost of Mercer and GGA studies. Goldvine insists an FOI request is required to get any details.

March 30, 2015: File first FOI with TCHC to get cost of Mercer and GGA studies and their contents.

May 5, 2015: Only after following up on status of FOI request, TCHC e-mails a letter — dated April 21 — asking for clarification of Sun’s request.

May 6, 2015: Ask Goldvine a number of questions on secrecy surrounding Mercer and GGA reports after they were discussed at April 30 board meeting. Chairman Bud Purves and Buhagair copied on the e-mail exchange. Goldvine again refuses to release any details.

May 7, 2015: Sent revised FOI request for cost of Mercer and GGA studies and contents.

May 13, 2015: Purves and Buhagair send a 10-page letter to acting city manager indicating a compensation policy for non-union employees and senior management executives was approved at April 30 board meeting. Letter finally provided to Toronto Sun on July 17.

July 8: Received FOI documents on Mercer and GGA studies. The final Mercer study was not provided.

The following is a transcript of an interchange with TCHC General Secretary Pamela Spencer when I approached her at last Wednesday’s Task Force presser to ask her about her involvement with the Mercer study:

PS: I’m not speaking to you ... you know what to do...put your questions in writing, send them to Lisa (Murray, TCHC spokesperson) and I’ll be very pleased to answer them.

SAL: Why can’t you just answer them (my questions) now?

PS (as director of strategic communications Bruce Malloch looked on): “I’m not going to answer these questions ... I am not authorized to speak to you ... you are well aware that we have a media protocol.

SAL: Who authorized you not to speak? This (story) is related to you.

PS: Well actually it is not about me. I am done, I am done. You bring your questions ... you put them through ....

BM: (interjects trying to push me away) Leave her alone... she’s responded to your questions.

SAL: Do you want this to go into my expose?

PS: There is nothing to be exposed ... you put your questions in writing and I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions with the approval of my boss.

sue-ann.levy@sunmedia.ca