Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
TESTIMONY
Testimony by Louisa Chaffee, Director of NYC Independent Budget Office (IBO), on procurement reform and fiscal accountability
0:28:40
·
4 min
Louisa Chaffee, Director of the NYC Independent Budget Office (IBO), testifies on procurement reform and fiscal accountability.
She advocates for elevating the Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS) to a charter-defined position, reforming the Procurement Policy Board (PPB), and addressing late payments to nonprofit vendors. Chaffee also suggests requiring reapproval for emergency contracts and strengthening language around units of appropriation for better budget transparency.
- Supports making MOCS a charter-defined office, similar to the Mayor's Office of Operations.
- Proposes reforms for the PPB, including mandated meeting frequency, expanded membership with fewer government employees, and dedicated staff.
- Highlights issues of late contract registration and late invoice payments for nonprofit human service providers, offering charter-based solutions.
- Recommends biennial reapproval for emergency contracts by the Comptroller and Mayor.
- Calls for clearer definitions of units of appropriation to improve budget transparency, citing examples from DYCD and NYPD.
Sharon Greenberger
0:28:40
Louisa?
Louisa Chaffee
0:28:41
Hi.
0:28:41
Thank you so much, Sharon.
0:28:44
Can you all hear me?
0:28:45
Yes.
0:28:46
Wonderful.
0:28:47
So good evening.
0:28:48
I'm Louisa Chaffee.
0:28:49
I'm the director of the New York City Independent Budget Office.
0:28:52
I'm pleased to again testify to you on these important issues drawing from both IBO's analysis and experience and my own history in City Hall and Albany.
0:29:02
First, I support the idea to elevate the mayor's office of contract services to becoming a charter position.
0:29:08
Authority, management, and accountability are all critical to procurement reform.
0:29:13
Today, the charter defines the roles of no fewer than 25 separate mayoral offices, but is silent on mocks.
0:29:21
Thus, is too easy for charter empowered agency heads to discount mocks' efforts based on this in apparent inequality and authority.
0:29:29
The mayor's office of operations is in both in function and spirit, the most analogous to mocks.
0:29:35
IBO suggests that the charter language defining operation should be the model for defining mocks.
0:29:42
I also load this commission's focus on the city's lateness in paying the nonprofit vendors that serve vulnerable New Yorkers.
0:29:48
There are two distinct compliance issues in this area.
0:29:51
The first is late registration.
0:29:53
City agencies are chronically late in registering human service contracts while whether new awards or continuations.
0:30:00
The city, cannot legally pay for services or provide an advance during the period where there is no registered contract.
0:30:08
It's rare for there to be a service that is genuinely and completely new.
0:30:13
And so the solution is to require city agencies to register contract continuations before an existing contract expires.
0:30:21
My written testimony provides way more information.
0:30:24
The second problem is late payment on invoices.
0:30:28
When a city agency is slow to pay a private sector vendor, say for construction, they may just stop working and find other customers.
0:30:36
They may also raise their bid prices the next time around when do engaging with the city.
0:30:41
Nonprofit providers have no such options.
0:30:44
Pricing is basically predetermined by the city, and they have no alternate customers.
0:30:49
Plus, nonprofits are mission driven and committed to serving New Yorkers, so most struggle on.
0:30:55
Many times, invoices are not paid as city agencies dispute minor items.
0:31:00
My written testimony provides details on how the charter can fix this issue.
0:31:05
The procurement policy board sets the policy and standards for city procurement.
0:31:09
It can benefit from some common sense reforms.
0:31:12
One, it should be mandated to meet at least four times a year.
0:31:16
Two, its membership should be doubled in size and should be comprised of fewer government employees.
0:31:22
The charter language that defines the IBO's advisory committee provides a useful model.
0:31:28
Three, it should have a director and even a small staff.
0:31:32
And four, and that's it.
0:31:34
Okay.
0:31:35
But before closing, I'd like to highlight I'm so excited about the PPP.
0:31:38
I'd like to highlight two other ideas.
0:31:41
One, the charter should require emergency contracts to be reapproved by the controller and the mayor every two years.
0:31:49
Recent lessons from COVID and asylum seekers demonstrate that without time limits, poor fiscal and management choices are easily made.
0:31:56
And finally, the Charter language around units of appropriation should be strengthened.
0:32:02
Units of appropriation are supposed to tell the public what is being spent for each, quote, particular program, purpose, activity, or institution, unquote.
0:32:11
In practice, many agencies account for unrelated programs with separate funding streams within a single UA.
0:32:18
For example, DYCD combines after school and immigrant services in one UA Those are not the same program.
0:32:24
The NYPD puts nearly a quarter of its budget into a single UA and that covers all police pracings, borough wide offices, and various specialty units.
0:32:34
This tells us nothing useful about the PD's budget.
0:32:37
With looming federal budget cuts, understanding where federal monies actually support city programs will be critical to public accountability.
0:32:47
The current UA practice flies in the face of the Charter's goals.
0:32:51
So I appreciate the opportunity to testify today, and I welcome the opportunity to work with you and your staff around these and other issues.
0:32:59
And I'm available if you have any questions.
0:33:01
Thank you.