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Q&A
Impact of contract duration on IBSP operations
1:13:09
·
3 min
Council Member Farías inquires about the challenges posed by 1-year versus 3-year contracts for IBSPs.
- Leah Archibald explains that shorter contracts create cash flow management issues, particularly during the contract registration period.
- The discussion highlights the difficulties in reimbursement and the limitations of existing bridge loan programs.
- Osagie Afe adds that performance metrics have increased while funding has remained constant.
Amanda Farías
1:13:09
And can you talk a little bit about how the 1 year versus 3 year RFP or contracts have provided some level of challenge or instability?
Leah Archibald
1:13:20
It's for me, it's really about managing the cash flow.
1:13:23
You know, when we had those 3 year contact contracts, like, once you're in, once your contract's registered, you know, you submit, you get reimbursed.
1:13:31
You submit, you get reimbursed.
1:13:33
The the big gulf is happening, for us during contract registration.
1:13:40
And and so, it as you know, you know, I've heard 1,000,000 of city agencies come in here and talk about this.
1:13:46
It takes a really long time for the city to register a contract.
1:13:51
And, you know, when you're registering a 3 year contract, you know, that's one thing, but we're registering a contract every single year with these extenders.
1:14:02
And, you know, what it means, you know, the fiscal year, as you know, starts July 1, and my staff's doing the work from July 1 and serving the businesses, and we're accruing the expenses and I'm paying out the salaries.
1:14:16
But, you know, our contracts like, my contract for this year isn't registered.
1:14:20
It's probably not gonna get registered until January, maybe February, which means we can't even submit for a reimbursement Right.
1:14:30
Until thereafter.
1:14:31
Now, the the fund for the city of New York has this, loan fund that's meant to be a bridge for folks that are caught in this Kafkaesque crevice, between, you know, getting your contract registered and and seeing the money.
1:14:48
But it really only I can really only draw on that once, and I can really only draw on that for expenses I've already made and I can only draw on it for salaries.
1:14:58
So, you know, all of the other, you know, the telephones and the other OTPS expenses, I can't I can't pull from that.
1:15:07
It's really just to reimburse me for, a portion of the salaries that we've accrued.
1:15:13
So it's a it's a Band Aid.
1:15:15
I'm glad that it's there.
1:15:17
I really needed it, and and the team turns it around really quickly.
1:15:22
However, like, to have to have the predictability of a multiyear contract would frankly, it would just help us focus our activities at serving the businesses and a little less, like, shaking out the couch cushions for money.
1:15:38
Yeah.
Osagie Afe
1:15:39
And I also would like to address, your first point.
1:15:41
I mean, I couldn't have said it as more articulately than Leah for the second point with the ex extending contract.
1:15:48
But in terms of the asking for increases without contract, you know, just to reiterate just just to reiterate, in the last decade, LICP has had its contract.
1:15:58
It hasn't increased.
1:16:00
And this year, we served 77 unique businesses, and that's just with just 2 staff.
1:16:05
You know?
1:16:06
So we're a little understaffed at the moment.
1:16:08
Increasing funding would go to increase in salary, hiring new staff, you know, and also reaching out to more businesses.
1:16:16
And I also just wanna say that this is also an additional to SBS has also exponentially because we have performance metrics for what we have to deliver.
1:16:27
And our performance metrics has increased, but our funding has remained constant.