State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office reviewed 1,711 contracts valued at $6 billion and approved more than 1.7 million payments worth more than $8.7 billion in the month of November. His office also rejected 175 contract transactions valued at $740 million and 791 payments valued at $1.3 million.
As the state’s chief financial officer, DiNapoli reviews contracts for all state agencies and certain contracts for state public authorities. He regularly reports on state spending and contracts and recently added daily accounting of state payments to openbooknewyork.com. This is his first monthly notification on major contracts and spending to better inform the public of the use of taxpayer dollars.
Here are the contract and spending highlights for November 2013:
Major Contract Approvals
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Lease Consolidations
Approved $281 million to consolidate MTA office leases in New York City and reduce overall annual costs by $25.7 million. - Office of General Services
Approved $1.6 million contract to demolish buildings at Albany’s State Office Building Campus with Titanium Demolition and Remediation Group. This will provide a staging area for the renovation of Building 5 to house New York’s new Business Services Center. - Workers’ Compensation Board – Imaging Services
Approved $49.7 million for imaging services with the NYS Industries for the Disabled. - State University of New York – Elevator Maintenance
Approved $19.2 million for elevator maintenance at 27 SUNY campuses. The contract resulted from the Comptroller’s assistance in leveraging SUNY-wide purchasing power to save up to $6 million. - New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services – Flood Assistance
Approved $16.6 million for the Town of Union to assist 176 homeowners who volunteered to have their Tropical Storm Lee-flood damaged homes acquired and demolished to avoid similar damages from future storms. - Department of Transportation – Transportation Services
Approved $6.7 million for grants to provide transportation services for the elderly and disabled. - Department of Transportation – Flood Recovery
Approved $3.8 million change order with CCI Companies Inc. to reconstruct highways damaged in the June 2013 floods in Herkimer, Montgomery, and Fulton counties. - Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
Approved $370 million in borrowing to fund the sale of outstanding Workers’ Compensation liabilities. This was pursuant to 2013 legislation to address unmet obligations of self-insured employers.
Contract Rejections
The Comptroller’s office rejected 175 transactions valued at $740 million because they lacked the required support including proof of vendor responsibility, proper approvals or committed funding. Agencies may resubmit these for review if the issues are resolved.
Major Payments Processed
- Approved $1.2 billion for 677 public school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services.
- Approved $29 million in federal HEAP benefits to assist approximately 57,000 low-income New Yorkers with ongoing home heating costs or heat related energy emergencies.
- Approved $3 million for nearly 50,600 Department of Motor Vehicle refunds, mostly to vehicle owners who returned license plates. (DMV refunds 50 percent of the registration fee for plates surrendered in the first year of a two-year registration.)
- Approved $954,700 in federal funds for a 44-foot patrol vessel outfitted with homeland security equipment to help patrol the ports of New York and New Jersey.
In addition, DiNapoli released a report to the state Legislature today on the importance of the Comptroller’s independent contract oversight to prevent procurement abuses in New York state.
For access to state and local government spending and nearly 50,000 state contracts, visit http://www.openbooknewyork.com/. The easy-to-use website was created by Comptroller DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government