Q&A
City-wide efforts to improve vendor vetting and responsibility determinations
1:34:40
·
116 sec
Charles Diamond from MOCS explains the city-wide efforts to improve vendor vetting and responsibility determinations.
- Agencies are required to conduct thorough responsibility determinations before awarding contracts
- This includes reviewing performance evaluations, disclosures, and using internet searches and other available resources
- Diamond highlights that DHS takes a 'best in class' approach to subcontractor approvals due to the nature of their portfolio
- The Vendor Compliance Cabinet is working to standardize these processes across agencies where appropriate
- Best practices developed by DHS since 2020 are now informing city-wide improvements in vendor vetting
Julie Won
1:34:40
What is what are the rest of the city agencies doing to avoid this from happening?
Charles Diamond
1:34:45
So, chair, in terms of the commissioner just referenced some of those kind of Lexus review checks, those different things using the Internet.
1:34:51
Those are all a required part of the responsibility determination.
1:34:55
So at the point of which an award is going to be given, agencies are required to proactively affirm that a potential awardee is going to be responsible.
1:35:03
That's not responsibility can mean a lot of things.
1:35:06
I think in particular for our discussion we're talking a lot about, financial or fiscal responsibility.
1:35:11
Do they have the procedures in place to make sure they're going to spend the city's money wisely?
1:35:15
Of course, to a certain extent, you're not gonna be able to know till they do the job.
1:35:19
But our but but the goal of the responsibility determination is to be able to predict it.
UNKNOWN
1:35:23
So we
Julie Won
1:35:24
But you could also just Google them and see that
Charles Diamond
1:35:26
So exactly so so exactly as I said, chair, they do Google them.
UNKNOWN
1:35:29
Mhmm.
Charles Diamond
1:35:30
And they do use those resources available to them.
1:35:32
They're they're reviewing their performance evaluations and their disclosures if they reach the threshold where they need to give disclosures.
1:35:39
So at various levels, that's the standard process, but I think as as the commissioner has well put, based off of the evidence that we've seen, based off of the issues that we've seen, some of which ended up in the DOI report, there's a
UNKNOWN
1:35:49
special emphasis that DHS takes to be best
Charles Diamond
1:35:49
in class.
1:35:49
There's no doubt about it when it comes to emphasis that DHS takes to be best in class.
1:35:53
There's no doubt about it when it comes to making sure, looking at subcontractor approvals.
1:35:57
DHS is best in class, and I think it's not only a reflection of their professionalism, but because they understand the issues in their portfolio and the issues that they have to address.
1:36:05
So agencies will do it a different way.
1:36:08
As you know, and as I said with the vendor compliance cabinet, a key goal is seeing where can we standardize that is program appropriate.
1:36:14
Obviously, reviewing a nonprofit is different than reviewing a construction company, but there's a way to meet in the middle.
1:36:20
So we're absolutely looking for those goals across the board, but there will be a difference.
1:36:24
And I would I would give credit to DHS.
1:36:26
I think certainly, really, we're talking about since that timeline, since 2020, you referenced of really stepping up and having best in class that is now informing citywide best practices, that are being rolled out.
