Toronto Parking Authority board suspended without pay after almost overpaying for North York property

City Council has voted in favour of suspending board members from the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) after an Auditor General report revealed the agency was close to overpaying for a piece of land in North York.

A motion put forward by Toronto-Danforth councillor Mary Fragedakis and seconded by Mayor John Tory to “place members of the TPA on a leave of absence without remuneration” passed 30 to 10.

The move comes after the city’s Auditor General appeared in a scheduled face-to-face meeting on Wednesday with council to elaborate on a 76-page report which revealed a discrepancy with the valuation and purchase price of a piece of property near Finch Avenue and Arrow Road.

READ MORE: Toronto Parking Authority almost overpaid $2.5M for North York property: auditor general

The plan was to construct a “gateway project” which might have housed parking and a bike share for Finch Avenue LRT riders in addition to potentially being home to North America’s largest flagpole.

Auditor General Beverly Romeo-Beehler, at the urging of TPA board member and Councillor John Filion, asked for a delay of the transaction suggesting the city was about to overpay for the land by about $2.5 million.

“I had a forensic investigator do work with me and we came to the conclusion that the land and sign were worth no more than $9.55 million, over by about $2.63 Million.” Romeo-Beehler told councillors.

“The board at that point of time, I found to be more concerned with trying to pursue the deal rather than saying, wait a second here, we’re over by $2.63 million. So that was a concern for me.”

READ MORE: Toronto Coun. Pam McConnell ‘gravely ill,’ Mayor John Tory says

Romeo-Beehler says she saw signs of “potential conflicts of interest” involving a lobbyist who seemed to be representing both the Emery Village Business Improvement Area (EVBIA), the group expected develop the TPA’s gateway project, and a sign consultant who spearheaded the placement of a digital sign currently on the property.

“The lobbyist stood to benefit if this deal happened.” the Auditor General said referring to the closing of contract terms between a deal with the lobbyist and sign consultant. “He had an interest in the deal going through. The sign consultant was his client.”

During Thursday’s city council meeting, Willowdale Councillor Filion told members that coming forward was “not fun,” adding that his “whistleblowing status” resulted in the TPA coming after him and hiring a lawyer.

In a letter made public by the city manager, barristers retained by the TPA argued that the staff did not have “an opportunity to complete its due diligence and present it to the board, in accordance with its standard process.”

It also goes on to say that Filion at one point said he would “call the cops” if the acquisition went ahead at the price set out in the original conditional agreement.

The TPA board will now step aside for a full review as council approved a motion to be refer the matter to the city’s integrity commissioner.