REMARKS
Council Member Julie Won addresses contracting and procurement challenges in shelter oversight
0:08:27
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172 sec
Council Member Julie Won, chair of the committee on contracts, addresses critical issues in the city's oversight of shelter providers, focusing on contracting and procurement challenges identified in the DOI's report. She discusses her sponsored legislation, Intro 979, which aims to improve food quality and cost-effectiveness in shelters through annual reporting.
- Won expresses concern about the concentration of contracts among a small number of large providers, creating systemic risk.
- She highlights issues with the city's payment and oversight processes, including approval of invoices with significant unspecified vendor costs.
- Won emphasizes the need for a clear procurement strategy and implementation of DOI's recommendations for vendor integrity, monitoring, and contract oversight.
Julie Won
0:08:27
Thank you so much, chairs Brewer, Ayala, and Brandon, for convening this important hearing and for your leadership on this com critical issue.
0:08:33
My name is Julie Won, and I have the privilege of chairing the council's committee on contracts.
0:08:38
As we've heard, today's hearing examines deeply concerning issues for the city's oversight of shelter providers.
0:08:44
From my committee's perspective, I want to focus particularly on contracting and procurement challenges identified in DOI's report.
0:08:52
I'm so proud to sponsor intro with 979, which would require annual reporting on food consumption in shelters and recommendations for improving both food quality and cost effectiveness.
0:09:02
Given that food service is one of the key contracted service in our shelter system and a basic necessity for survival, this data will be invaluable for evaluating vendor vendor performance and ensuring we're getting the best value for residents and taxpayers.
0:09:16
Beyond the troubling invoice and payment issues my colleagues have mentioned, I'm particularly concerned about the concentration of contracts among just 17 nonprofit contractors that comprise 65% of the city's non, non migrant shelter capacity.
0:09:32
This creates significant systemic risk that must be addressed through our procurement strategy.
0:09:37
If any one of these major providers were to face operational challenges or have their contracts terminated, we could lose thousands of shelter beds overnight.
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The shell the city needs a clear contingency plan for such scenarios.
0:09:51
I'm also deeply troubled by DOI's findings about the city's payment and oversight process.
0:09:55
When providers can submit and receive approval for invoices with over a 117,000,000 in unspecified vendors, it suggests a fundamental weakness in the city's contract management systems.
0:10:06
These gaps are particularly concerning given that sheltered contracts represent 3 of the city's top 10 largest contracts overall and 9 of the top 10 largest human services contracts.
0:10:18
The planned transition of emergency shelter operations back to DHS by f y 2026 adds
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another layer of complexity to these procurement challenges.
Julie Won
0:10:24
While these consolidations may offer opportunities to successfully.
0:10:37
We need to ensure our procurement approach anticipates and addresses potential challenges before they arise.
0:10:43
The committee will be particularly interested in hearing how DSS, DHS, and MOX plan to implement DOI's recommendations regarding vendor integrity, monitoring, and contract oversight.
0:10:53
We need specific details about how the city will strengthen and strengthen its review processes while ensuring timely payment to the providers who deliver these essential services.
0:11:03
Before we begin, I would like to thank senior staff, senior counsel Alex Polinoff, policy analyst Alex Yablon, senior financial analyst Owen Kotowski, unit head Jack Story, and all the other committee staff members for their hard work in putting this to hearing together.
0:11:18
Thank you.
