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Q&A
Commissioner Weisbrod and Director Chafee discuss the root causes of delayed nonprofit payments
0:12:04
·
170 sec
Commissioner Carl Weisbrod questions IBO Director Louisa Chafee about the persistent issue of delayed payments to nonprofit contractors, asking whether it stems from charter deficiencies or management incompetence. Chafee suggests it's a combination, highlighting the need for both management commitment and potential charter changes like elevating the Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS).
- The problem of delayed payments dates back decades and has worsened recently.
- Agency performance on timely payments fluctuates over time.
- Chafee attributes delays to the complexity of the procurement process and the need for sustained high-level management attention.
Carl Weisbrod
0:12:04
Miss JP, the issue of party or late or nonpayments finally to not for profits issues far back as I back at least to the Koch administration.
0:12:19
Maybe further than that.
0:12:22
It it was improved somewhat at the Koch administration by shaming the agencies to submit their vouchers in a timely way.
0:12:34
But it has gotten a lot worse, and we let's see.
0:12:38
They know considered this issue mostly in the 2019 charter.
0:12:47
And yet it spiked it spiked in the last few years even more.
0:12:55
What?
0:12:56
I'm
Dr. Lisette Nieves
0:12:57
I'm a little
Carl Weisbrod
0:12:58
leery about how much of this issue is a charter issue to solve, but how much of it is simply sort of management incompetence?
Louisa Chafee
0:13:12
I would say it's a combination of both.
0:13:15
I in the years, I had the pleasure of working on procurement for eight years and looking very closely at human service procurement, so we went up to about 90% time repayment, which we thought wasn't good enough and is significantly better than what we're seeing now.
0:13:30
And that was an intense management drive.
0:13:33
It's one of the reasons why we're suggesting the mayor's office of contract services should be elevated so that they have the same level charter status.
0:13:41
There are IT improvements, but not an IT system, in my experience, having led HHS Accelerator cannot solve the problem.
0:13:49
It needs to be a combination of management and commitment and IT enabling process.
0:13:56
It's it's an enormous network.
Carl Weisbrod
0:14:00
Just to follow-up.
0:14:01
Why is it that over the years, the same agencies are the same tardy agencies to submit their vouchers in time to start the process?
0:14:14
And even though they're called out for attention, it never really seems to improve.
Louisa Chafee
0:14:20
I would say that the agencies do fluctuate.
0:14:22
Sometimes they're really good, and sometimes they're not.
0:14:24
And I'd be happy to discuss who's good and who's bad.
0:14:30
Mean, it's transparent, but there have been agencies that have done very well and then two years later have done very badly.
0:14:35
Badly.
0:14:36
So but I think the fundamental issue has to do with the procurement process is complex and time consuming, and there needs to be management's attention and an elevation that this is critical to the operation of business operations for the city.