Purpose

To determine the extent of implementation of the four recommendations included in our initial audit report, Contracts for Personal and Miscellaneous Services (2008-S-158).

Background

Our initial report, issued on September 14, 2009, determined that while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) constituent agencies are required to determine whether services can be provided in-house before proceeding to contract, the agencies were not required to maintain documentation supporting the basis for this determination, and we found such documentation was often not prepared. In addition, the MTA did not have a requirement to periodically assess whether existing personal and miscellaneous service contracts were still needed, or whether they could be suspended or scaled-back to help reduce costs. We also found that there was no requirement that the operating unit requesting the services determine whether: it was feasible for another constituent agency to perform some or all of the necessary services; it would be feasible and more economical for two or more constituent agencies to meet their agency-specific needs by using a single contract; or an existing New York State or New York City contract could be used to obtain the necessary goods or services. We estimated that by reducing personal and miscellaneous service contract costs by 10 percent, the MTA would save about $176 million in operating and capital-related expenses. This could help the MTA to close budget gaps.

Key Finding

• The MTA made some progress in implementing the recommendations contained in our prior report. However, further actions are still needed. Of the four prior audit recommendations, two were partially implemented, one was not implemented, and one is no longer applicable.

Key Recommendation

• Officials are given 30 days after the issuance of the follow-up review to provide information on any actions that are planned to address the unresolved issues discussed in this review.

Other Related Audit/Report of Interest

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Contracts for Personal and Miscellaneous Services Follow-up (2013-F-18)