TESTIMONY
Ami Shah, Deputy Director of Legal Services NYC, on Contract Challenges and Funding for Housing Programs
4:48:05
·
3 min
Legal Services NYC Deputy Director Ami Shah highlights urgent issues with expiring contracts for housing programs and right to counsel funding, affecting over $173 million in funding.
- Contracts for Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection (AHTP) and Right to Counsel funding are set to expire in 3.5 months.
- No awards have been received for the Request for Proposals (RFP) submitted on December 1st.
- Shah requests contract extensions to ensure continuity of client services during the implementation period.
- The contracting process with the city faces delays and administrative burdens, including issues with RFP issuance, contract registration, and invoicing.
- Suggestions for improvement include incorporating timeframes for each step of the contracting process, providing bridge loans, and increasing advance payments from 25% to 50%.
Ami Shah
4:48:05
Thank you.
4:48:05
Hi.
4:48:06
My name is Amisha.
4:48:07
I am at Legal Services NYC to spike a long my colleagues here.
4:48:12
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the council.
4:48:14
While my colleagues talked about some of the substantive issues around proper funding for our housing programs,
UNKNOWN
4:48:20
One of
Ami Shah
4:48:21
the biggest issues that's affecting us right now is that we are 3 and a half months short of our contracts expiring for over 173 dollars that represent both our AHTP funding and our right to counsel funding for the legal services provider citywide.
4:48:37
To date that we have not received any awards on the request for proposals that the city requested for this funding, those were submitted on December 1st.
4:48:47
And in the meantime, while we await for those awards, we need time to implement whatever contract provisions we receive.
4:48:56
So it we're requesting that we the council partner with us in requesting contract extensions now so that in the 3 months when our contracts are up and we're still implementing, we have the time to create programs that continue services for our clients.
4:49:13
In addition to our extensions, there are also overall contract process challenges that our organizations have faced.
4:49:20
The process itself of contracting with the city is rife with delays and administrative burdens on our agencies.
4:49:27
So for example, from issuance to registering to invoicing these contracts, when we start with issuance, the RFP Although the city has time to prepare for the RFP before contract is set to expire, often years of notice, they feel to do so timely requiring our organizations to often have difficulty planning because we do not know what our funding will be when it will be firmed and what services we will be funded to provide.
4:49:56
Once we contracts are issued, we also have difficulty registering those contracts.
4:50:01
They're awarded.
4:50:03
But it can take new take months for new contracts to be issued and registered, creating a gap.
4:50:10
Please.
4:50:10
Thank you.
4:50:11
Creating a gap in our funding that our organizations are forced to try to fill.
4:50:16
Well, this is common in the RFP and baseline contracting process.
4:50:20
Its endemic when it comes to contract amendments.
4:50:22
Because of the delay in contracting and the lack of flexibility within the reimbursement contract structure, each of our core contracts is funded by a series of amendments that must be separately registered and invoiced, causing further delay in payment to our organizations.
4:50:37
These are coupled with technical challenges such as the migration to passport that delay payments on our contracts causing cash flow issues for many of our organizations.
4:50:48
Lastly, with the the process of invoicing is also extremely onerous requiring record keeping and reporting from our finance teams that are stretched incredibly thin.
4:50:56
To alleviate some of these concerns, we, as a provider, we have some suggestions.
4:51:01
The city should incorporate time frames for each step of the contracting and procurement process, giving provider sufficient time to implement new contracts.
4:51:10
They should provide bridge loans for providers from the renewable grant without contract registration requirements to fill the gap in between contracts.
4:51:18
They should cover interest incurred on a loan or line of credit used by our organizations to bridge the gap between city contracts should reduce the annual contract registration document requirements and passport for renewals and should provide advances of 50% instead of 25% to help address delays in the invoicing process.
4:51:37
Our organizations have at the front lines of defending New York City attendance for decades.
4:51:42
We are passionate about this work and about our client communities.
4:51:45
And together, we represent all the contractors under the RTAC and HTTP contracts.
4:51:50
We thank you for the opportunity to work with you and continue building effective accessible programs that defend New York City tenants.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
4:51:57
Thank you so much
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Runa Rajagopal, Managing Director of Bronx Defenders, on Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection Program and Funding Fairness for Legal Services
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Viviana Gordon, Director of Planning and Implementation at Center for Justice Innovation, on Housing Instability and Public Housing Oversight