Purpose

The objective of our examination was to determine whether the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities Long Island Developmental Disabilities State Operations Office (DDSOO) complied with New York State Finance Law requirements and guidance on the use of Procurement Cards (PCards) when purchasing $1.6 million in goods and services from 12 vendors during the period January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

Background

Pursuant to State Finance Law §112, agency contracts over $50,000 in amount must be approved by the Office of the State Comptroller. State Finance Law §163 requires agencies to competitively procure goods and services in amounts above $50,000, or $200,000 under certain circumstances. When the reasonably expected aggregate amount of such purchases to be made in a 12 month period exceed the monetary thresholds. Agencies are directed not to use PCards to make purchases from agency-specific contracts because expenditures are not captured in the year-to-date and life-to date amounts on the contract.

Key Findings

DDSOO staff did not comply with the requirements of the State Finance Law related to the Office of the State Comptroller contract approval and/or the competitive bidding procedures for purchases from seven vendors with an aggregate value of $809,950. Additionally, DDSOO staff inappropriately used PCards to pay for purchases valued at $809,761 from five vendors with agency-specific contracts.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure DDSOO staff (i) adhere to the State Finance Law requirements for OSC contract approval and competitive bidding and (ii) do not use PCards to pay for purchases from vendors with agency-specific contracts.
• Adjust contract life-to-date expenditures to reflect PCard purchases from agency-specific contracts.
• Monitor staff use of PCards to ensure compliance with the State Finance Law and GFO requirements.