Top Metrolink Officials Removed in Shake-Up

Metrolink, the commuter railroad serving Southern California, has replaced its director and put two top executives on paid leave amid an ongoing management review that has uncovered a host of problems, rail service officials said Monday.

The board of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, which operates Metrolink, appointed Deputy Director David R. Solow interim executive director last week after Richard M. Stanger stepped aside as head of the rail service.

Two top managers, marketing director Adrienne Brooks-Taylor and finance director Wanda Hill, have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the management evaluation, according to Metrolink officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The shake-up coincides with a scathing 56-page audit of Metrolink that characterizes the agency’s leadership as ill-suited to guide the rail system to the next level of growth and prone to putting the agency at risk because of mismanagement.

The far-reaching audit criticizes the agency leaders for the way they have handled contract bids, billing, in-house training, employee records and hiring.

“No longer can the agency continue to operate without effective policies and procedures or by offering sketchy staff reports and budgets to the Board of Directors for decisions,” the audit states.

How much the findings contributed to the personnel changes is unclear. Metrolink sources said the 11-member board and Stanger have developed philosophical differences over the direction of the rail line as it tries to distance itself from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The MTA has provided extensive administrative and operational services to the commuter line since it began in the early 1990s. Metrolink officials are now building their own bureaucracy and are concerned that the public associates Metrolink with the MTA.

Riverside City Councilman Alex Clifford, who heads the rail authority’s board, acknowledged the appointment of Solow, but declined to elaborate on the situation. He said he and his colleagues will discuss the management changes at a special board meeting Friday.

Stanger, who guided Metrolink through its formative stages, declined to comment on his departure. He has been the railroad’s executive director since 1992.

Stanger, 51, whose Metrolink salary was $138,780 a year, said he is preparing a formal statement to be released later this week.

Sources said that Hill and Brooks-Taylor might be reinstated if their positions are determined to be necessary to the operation of the railroad. Neither Hill nor Brooks-Taylor could be reached for comment Monday.

Solow, 46, of Laguna Niguel, who has 18 years of transit experience, was appointed interim director last Friday during a special board meeting.

He served as manager of commuter rail for the Los Angeles Transportation Commission and led the planning for what is now Metrolink. Solow was the commuter line’s deputy director for operations and engineering.

Metrolink sources said Monday that Stanger left the commuter line because of philosophical differences with board members. His exit was mutually agreed upon, they said.

“It was felt that Richard has done a good job getting Metrolink up and running,” said one high-ranking rail official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“We are trying to get away from MTA,” the official said. “Maybe he is not the most qualified person to head Metrolink at this time. We disagree on the way to run the internal operation.”

Sources said the management review was necessary after six years of operation and the current move to be more independent of the MTA.

Metrolink operates 107 trains that serve commuters in Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties. Most routes travel to Union Station in Los Angeles in the morning and return in the afternoon.

Part of the evaluation included an audit released this month. Peter Hidalgo, a Metrolink spokesman, said the report was not done in an attempt to call into question any specific manager.

Auditors offer a rare glimpse into the management of the commuter rail agency, which has escaped the scrutiny and criticism leveled at its sister agency, the MTA.

The report, written by a panel of county and regional transportation officials, identifies the lack of a “single, comprehensive index of policies and procedures” as a root weakness that has led to ineffective management.

This has created an atmosphere within Metrolink that “is not conducive to operating with sound business practices,” the audit stated.

Among other things, the panel of transportation officials expressed specific concerns that:

* The method of procuring bids for agency projects has been poorly handled and led to challenges of past bids offered, a trend that could have ominous results. The agency evaluates bids based on a murky set of criteria and relies too much on cost as a key decision factor.

“These practices could expose Metrolink to sizable monetary lawsuits,” the report states.

* Employee records have been poorly maintained, updated in a spotty fashion and not kept consistently secure. Job applicant backgrounds are checked in an inconsistent fashion, and salary policies have not been uniform with new hires, the audit states.

* The agency lacks an “overall, ongoing training program” for managers, and the leadership does a poor job communicating management decisions to staff.

* Cellular phones and pagers issued to employees and “even the employees of outside contractors” have led to substantial bills with little oversight.

The agency also has 115 cars--most of them driven by the employees of contractors--that opens Metrolink up to risk and costs. The report says this “might be acceptable if it resulted in an appreciable benefit.”

To remedy the problems and foster growth of the rail service, the audit states that Metrolink should draft a clear set of policies and set up internal controls as well as reviews to hold management accountable.

The report states that Metrolink’s current polices may “compromise the organization’s standing with the public.”