Every once in a while I post a “buffet” of bits of interesting information I’ve obtained from government through the Freedom of Information process.

Well, consider this blog post another one of those buffets for the public and media to feast on…although be forewarned, this buffet is bigger than ever before!

1) We’ve Now Hit The Quarter Billion Dollar Secret Mark

For years I’ve been harping on the fact Manitoba Hydro is paying for millions of dollars worth of bills racked up by northern reserves in the name of “dam negotiation and process costs” and keeping it all secret.

Yes, it sounds so far fetched but it’s true. I’ve tried numerous times to find out how the money has been spent and investigate allegations that some of the money has been misspent on things like big screen TVs, Xbox video game systems, video cameras, freezers, but Hydro refuses to release the info.

The last figure we put out on this issue pegged the total expenses at $224 million. As you can see in this document – click here - the expenses hit $244 million as of June 2013. Given that expenses have been in the $12.6-$16.1 million range over the last three years, we would have surpassed the quarter billion dollar secret mark in late 2013.

If you want proof that Hydro has refused the details, take a look at this FOI response – click here. In it you’ll see asked (again) for a single breakdown of one of the figures in the big $244 million spreadsheet. Specifically I asked for details on the $211,138 worth of bills that were racked up by Tataskweyak Cree Nation. Hydro refused.

Yay democracy!

 

2) Cashing Out Unused Sick Leave

Manitoba Hydro workers and firefighters in Winnipeg are both allowed to roll over unused sick leave and cash them out.

I first started digging around on this issue back in 2009. In fact, when I suggested cutting back the benefit for firefighters, I even got a death threat from someone who identified themselves as a city employee. The person promised to burn my house down and make sure my wife and kids were in it if I wasn’t careful. Classy. So much for public debate.

Anyway, from what I recall, the rules around how firefighters’ can cash out their sick leave are a lot more generous compared with Hydro workers. But if you’re the type who rarely calls in sick for work and, these numbers won’t sit well:

This document shows unused sick leave cash outs cost Manitoba Hydro ratepayers $2.7 million in 2004/05. However, this new document shows that unused sick leave cash outs cost $5.5 million in 2011/12 and $5.1 million in 2012/13. Ouch.

Turning to the city, I wrote about firefighters leave cash outs in this column, so what’s new here are these numbers – click here. They show the number of recipients for the amounts cashed out each year. As you can see, in 2012 the city paid out $2.4 million to just 40 workers; an average of $60,107 per payout. Another ouch. Remember that figure the next time city hall says there’s no money to fix our roads; especially as the liability for paying out the unused sick leave continues to grow.

 

3) Want to See Details of the Police HQ Expenses? Cut a Big Cheque

I asked back in November 2013 for copies of all bills related to the police headquarters and the City of Winnipeg responded in December with a response that basically said – ‘sure, we’ll give it to you but only if you pay $3,090.’ (I’m paraphrasing.)

If you want to see the response - click here.

 

4) What Change Order?

Those who followed the fire hall debacle in Winnipeg know that the new fire station on Portage Avenue went through several changes. For example, at one point they were going to try and include a museum in the building. Yes. A fire hall museum. In a fire hall. In the middle of a cloverleaf. Where there’s no parking. That’s city planning for you.

Anyway, I asked for something called “change orders” related to the project. In short, when you work on a construction project, if there’s a decision to change the original plan part way through, a “change order” issued which carefully notes what changes were requested. As you can see – no change orders for that project – click here. Seems like it was all done on the back of a napkin. And yet the administration claims it followed all proper city procedures during that debacle...go figure!

 

5) Property Management Contracts – Police Headquarters

Back in the fall of 2012, public policy expert Brian Kelcey and I spoke to the city of Winnipeg’s Property and Development Committee. Specifically, we targeted the city’s poor processes related to hiring firms to help the city handle real estate transactions.

One of our targets was a pair of contracts given to Shindico for “property management” work related to the new police headquarters. To make a long story short, we explained how we didn’t feel there wasn’t a proper competition for that type of service before the contracts we handed out. Councillors Browaty and Wyatt agreed, terminating the contract at the next meeting.

Eventually the administration held a competition to see who could provide the work and ultimately decided to do the work city staff; claiming they would save over $100,000 per year.

Well, since that time I obtained data on how much the city had been paying local firm Shindico for the work each year – click here.

 

6) Red River College Follow-Up

When we broke the news in 2013 that Red River College’s President, Stephanie Forsyth, had expensed her golf shoes and driver’s license, my phone line lit up with tips from other former and current and former RRC staff over things to look into at the college.

One of the expenses we were advised to look into was a bill for wedding-related expense from an event at the President’s house – click here.

Other expenses were documented in this column – such as meals expensed for the college’s Christmas party and flowers for the person who took over the President’s old job in B.C. (Incredibly, five expenses have been repaid after the CTF started digging.)

However, here are a few more FOI responses that came in after I looked into claims by tipsters:

 

Claim/Comment	CTF Comment
The College has seen a huge spike in terms of staff and costs for the “President’s Executive.”	True – RRC docs show expenses in 2010 consisted of five executive positions and five assistants for a total of $933,513 as of April 1, 2010. By 2013 this figure had increased to $1,705,746 (up 83%) and consisted of seven executive positions and six assistants – click here.
The College changed its travel policy so that executives could fly first class	False – RRC’s policy covering staff travel hasn’t been changed since 2005 according to documents we obtained. The document notes “travellers are to obtain the most economical airfare suitable in the circumstances.” Seems vague. But what I did notice was the President’s flight to India ($6,681) seemed to cost more than double what Premier Selinger’s cost ($2,648) for the same trip. Time to get those travel agents sharing tips!
Severance pay has increased a lot in the last few years	True – From 2007-08 to 2009-10 there was ‘just’ $70,506.74 paid out in severance pay. However from 2010-11 to 2012-13 there was over $500,000 paid out in severance pay – click here
Take a look at the College’s Board expenses	Slight decrease from 2011-12 to 2012-13. It’s hard to know if anything is questionable without further digging. One thing I did see was a huge spike in internal food costs – from $6,999 to $10,602 – click here
“Wine was delivered to the President’s home, check expenses from Banville and Jones”	True – Wine was delivered to the President’s home. At least one time it seems to have been for a professional development retreat – called “PC Retreat.” – click here

 

 

7) $100,000 Bomber Stadium Traffic Web Site?

After investigating a little nugget noted in Public Accounts, I came across an agreement to spend up to $100,000 to assist with game day traffic preparations for the new the stadium.

Oddly enough the UofM was earmarked for $25,000 – I guess because a student attending the University to study biology should somehow pay for ensuring traffic flows smoothly during Bomber games? I can’t see the connection, but I digress…

Here’s the doc – click here.

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