QUESTION
How are emergency contracts allocated and which circumstances warrant them?
4:29:07
·
176 sec
Emergency contracts are allocated based on unforeseen circumstances, with efforts to contain costs and ensure appropriate bidding even when traditional procurement methods are infeasible.
- The New York City Charter clarifies what constitutes unforeseen circumstances.
- Traditional procurement methods may be deemed infeasible under certain conditions, but cost containment and appropriate firm selection are still required.
- The Department of Correction's emergency contract for exterminator services due to a health hazard is approved after informal bidding, illustrating the process.
- The comptroller's office evaluates emergency procurement requests carefully, exemplified by the contrasting decisions on Department of Correction's contract requests.
- Policies for emergency procurement are followed to maintain efficiency and cost-effectiveness in urgent situations.
Gale Brewer
4:29:07
So on the contracts that the chair was asking about, the one that is for the cards for those who need to eat and get baby products.
4:29:16
I understand that I think one of the reasons that you signed off was to make sense is that they're backed by Citibank and other banks who have lots of experience with credit cards.
4:29:26
So that makes sense.
4:29:27
But my question is, under what circumstance can an emergency contract be allocated in the first place?
4:29:33
This may be a good one in terms of background.
4:29:37
But it seems to me like every time I turn around, we have another emergency contract.
4:29:42
Is it just health and hospitals?
4:29:44
Can everybody else do it?
4:29:45
What's what's what's going on?
Brad Lander
4:29:47
Yeah.
4:29:47
It's a great question.
4:29:48
We I'll point to in addition to the report we put out last week's specifically on these asylum secure contracts.
4:29:54
We did a whole report called rethinking emergency procurement that digs in on a bunch of these questions.
4:30:00
Actually, let me use the example because we approved one today from the same agency Department of Correction that we had rejected 1 from last week.
4:30:08
So last week Department of Correction brought us a contract for the digital services for tablets of detainees.
4:30:17
And that way, on track, we rejected because we concluded it should have been bid out that they didn't have a good reason not to bid it out.
4:30:24
Today, DOC came to us for exterminator service is because they had a facility at which a rat had bit someone last week, and they identified the need to procure emergency services.
4:30:37
It seemed entirely reasonable.
4:30:39
In that case, they had gone to 3 firms to get essentially informal bids.
4:30:45
They didn't go through an whole RFP process, but they got 3 quick bids and they brought the best of them to us.
4:30:52
And we turned around.
4:30:53
They were that request for emergency procurement in an hour, I think, a couple you know, within the day, So the charter gives some clarity on what are unforeseen circumstances.
4:31:03
And and when bidding or the one of the other traditional procurement methods would be infeasible.
4:31:12
But even when they are infeasible, you're still directed to use as much cost containment as you can to make sure that the firm you're bidding with is appropriate.
4:31:24
In the case of Mokify, you know, what they what they brought was and this has been publicly reported.
4:31:33
You know, we're looking for ways of keeping food costs down, of improving the and YOU KNOW, WE THINK TRYING THAT OUT IN A PILDLAND OF 500 FAMILIES.
4:31:45
WILL, YOU KNOW, IS worth doing without bidding it out.
4:31:51
And my team looked at the reasons given In that case, we actually have city policies for Pcards for and they affirmed that the those policies were being followed and
Rita Joseph
4:32:03
Okay.