Ford considers privatizing TCHC after auditor’s report
Posted March 2, 2011 6:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Mayor Rob Ford says he’s considering privatizing the Toronto Community Housing Corp. after learning of wasteful spending and untendered contracts in audits released this week.
Ford made the comment in a radio interview Wednesday morning.
“I have no problem looking at TCHC and how we’re delivering these services,” he told Jerry Agar of Newstalk 1010. “If contracting it out is the way to go, that’s the way we’re going to go.”
He also said he would ask council to force out TCHC board members in a vote. They have so far refused to step down.
“I asked the seven civilians to resign,” Ford said. “They sent a letter saying they will not resign. I asked (CEO) Keiko Nakamura to resign. She said no.”
The report by the city’s auditor general, Jeff Griffiths, found between Jan. 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, employees had spent almost $100,000 on two parties, $1,925 at a local spa and $1,000 on chocolates from Holt Renfrew, among other “inappropriate expenses.” Further, he said as much as $6 million was wasted because of contracts awarded without considering competing offers.
But Nakamura blamed a few for tarnishing the entire TCHC and said she plans to discipline staff, recover misused funds, implement stricter spending controls and create an ethics hotline for employees.
She took over from former head, Derek Ballantyne, in May 2009 after four years as chief operating officer.
TCHC director Ron Struys, says Ford has no right to ask him and his fellow board members to leave.
“When Mayor Ford has been running the city a year from now and there’s a $1,000 expenditure out of $9.3 billion that shouldn’t have been spent, is he going to resign? No, he’s not. That’s completely unreasonable.”
A TCHC board meeting is scheduled for 8:30am on March 3 at 931 Yonge St. The public is invited to attend.
With files from Melanie Ng
