Don't Hold Your Breath Charles

Transparency at City Hall was an election promise but in the first week we see Miller's Minions holding "secret" meetings.

TTC must offer transparent tendering process

Toronto Star

How TTC will pay its way

Jan. 7.

Kenneth Kidd's article on the proposed disposal of surplus properties by the Toronto Transit Commission was excellent.

A key issue will be what price the properties command and what use will be made of the properties.

As a forensic accountant, I know an ongoing problem with the sale of surplus government assets is that the transaction price can be below the true market value. This problem applies particularly to real estate; each real estate site is unique and, generally, real estate appreciates over time, unlike, say subway cars.

I hope, as a taxpayer and as a Torontonian, that these lands are not sold or optioned based on appraised value, as appraisals are only estimates of what the market may bring.

It would be better to have a full and transparent tendering process, with complete information packages on each property, extensive marketing of each property, reasonable deadlines for tenders to not give anyone a leg up on anyone else, clear pre-set criteria for bid evaluations, an open and transparent evaluation of each bid and the use of objective professionals to select winning tenders.

Regrettably, the fact that such real estate is sold relatively infrequently can make it hard to effectively evaluate a range of proposals.

It is important for the TTC commissioners to develop a fair and objective process and to ensure that the process is followed to the letter. Given the value of what may be sold and the importance of getting defendable unbiased results, the TTC commissioners may seek the input of the Auditor General Jeff Griffiths and his team. An ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure.

Charles Smedmor,

Toronto