**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** November 2, 2011
Contact: Aja Worthy-Davis at (212) 788-7081
Council Member Letitia James Introduces Legislation To Require City Agencies To Report Cost Overruns On Large Private Contracts
Bill Is In Response To Administration's Lack Of Oversight, Ongoing Review Of Contracts
New York, NY- On November 3, 2011, Council Member Letitia James will introduce legislation that would require City agencies to report to the Council cost overruns on large contracts. Specifically, agencies would be required to notify the Council within seven business days when it authorizes a payment to modify or extend an original contract worth more than $1M, for an additional cost of $500,000 and/or more than 10% over the original contract price.
During Council Member James’ tenure as Chair of the Contracts Committee, the committee held hearings on the outsourcing of public services to the private sector (as it affected both municipal workers throughout the City of New York, and public costs for potentially unnecessary private labor); as well as two oversight hearings on the Office of Payroll Administration’s City Time contract, a payroll system that she’d criticized as being overly costly and difficult to manage.
In September 2010, after Council Member James’ chairmanship ended, she stood with Local 375 (DC 37) to halt any further rolling-out of the Citytime project. She later commended Comptroller John Liu for ending expansion of the project due to ballooning costs and unmet deadlines, as well as his imposing hard deadlines on incomplete work. She joined numerous elected officials in speaking out against the $80M embezzlement of public funds by City Time consultants in December 2010, and praised Mayor Bloomberg for rightfully demanding $600 million from Science Applications International Corporation (contractor of Citytime) for what had become a public disaster for the administration.
In March 2011, former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith wrote an op-ed in the New York Daily News on the outsourcing of technology positions to private contractors. In the article, Mr. Goldsmith asserted that the issue was not the outsourcing itself, but rather the administration’s need to place more attention towards employing City workers to perform these IT duties. He also announced administrative efforts to increase positions for municipal workers. Council Member James commended the administration for taking these initial steps.
"It is obvious that a lack of administrative oversight of contracted companies leaves the City vulnerable," said Council Member James. "Although I support the administration developing technology that simplifies and updates necessary functions, I do not support the administration handing over blank checks to private companies for IT projects."
The Citytime contract increased from a projected $68 million at its onset to more than $738 million, the Emergency Communications Transformation Program went from an initial $380 million to $666 million, and NYCAPS has ballooned from $66 million in 2002 to $363 million as of 2011.
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Rabu, 02 November 2011
Jumat, 01 Juli 2011
CM James Commends Mayor Bloomberg On Demanding $600M Refund for Citytime Disaster
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
June 29, 2011
Contact: Aja Worthy-Davis at (212) 788-7081
Council Member Letitia James Commends Mayor Bloomberg On Demanding $600M Refund for Citytime Disasterr
New York, NY— The charges against Citytime were outrageous— on December 15, 2010 four Citytime consultants were charged with embezzling $80 million from the City of New York through steering public funds to consulting firms who funneled the money to shell companies controlled by the consultants and their families. By the time federal investigators and the NYC Department of Investigation began looking into the program’s payroll fraud and abuse, the list of crimes became more unbelievable. By February 2011, three upper-level Citytime officials employed by project contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) were dismissed from their positions.
And it soon became clear why such steps were taken— two officials soon plead guilty to criminal charges, and SAIC found one senior projects manager erroneously billed overtime hours. In fact, TechnoDyne, one of the largest subcontractors of Citytime, saw its executives flee the country after receiving federal indictments for their crimes. All this brought the number of people allegedly involved in Citytime corruption since last December to a whopping eleven, with federal prosecutors seizing more than $38 million in stolen funds from over 100 bank accounts hidden in international shell companies.
It is no wonder Mayor Bloomberg— on the eve of the expiration of the SAIC contract— saw fit to demand a $600 million refund from SAIC on behalf of the City of New York!
“Mayor Bloomberg absolutely made the right decision in demanding a refund for this thief’s buffet,” said Council Member Letitia James. “I regret that he did not move to address this Citytime corruption when it first became apparent, perhaps it could’ve saved CUNY’s Vallone scholarship or DHS’ Advantage Program program, programs that offered options for low-income New Yorkers. Perhaps this money could’ve helped ease cuts to domestic violence services, criminal justice services, and city hospitals and health services. Allegations of greed and mismanagement were widespread for some time before the investigations proved them to be more than accurate.”
On September 2010, before any crimes were uncovered, Comptroller Liu announced his agreement with the administration to give SAIC a deadline of June 30, 2011 to complete all original work on the program. With the understanding that the delayed work would be completed, the program was allocated up to $32M for maintenance and support services alone. Around this time, Council Member Letitia James joined Local 375 (DC 37) in opposing the project. Council Member James cited what were at the time ‘accusations’ of administrative greed and mismanagement, as well as the ballooning costs of the program from an initial $68 million to what at the time was $700 million.
Council Member James has been a long-term opponent of the Citytime project, from her tenure of Chair of the Contracts Committee where she held two hearings on the project in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
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June 29, 2011
Contact: Aja Worthy-Davis at (212) 788-7081
Council Member Letitia James Commends Mayor Bloomberg On Demanding $600M Refund for Citytime Disasterr
New York, NY— The charges against Citytime were outrageous— on December 15, 2010 four Citytime consultants were charged with embezzling $80 million from the City of New York through steering public funds to consulting firms who funneled the money to shell companies controlled by the consultants and their families. By the time federal investigators and the NYC Department of Investigation began looking into the program’s payroll fraud and abuse, the list of crimes became more unbelievable. By February 2011, three upper-level Citytime officials employed by project contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) were dismissed from their positions.
And it soon became clear why such steps were taken— two officials soon plead guilty to criminal charges, and SAIC found one senior projects manager erroneously billed overtime hours. In fact, TechnoDyne, one of the largest subcontractors of Citytime, saw its executives flee the country after receiving federal indictments for their crimes. All this brought the number of people allegedly involved in Citytime corruption since last December to a whopping eleven, with federal prosecutors seizing more than $38 million in stolen funds from over 100 bank accounts hidden in international shell companies.
It is no wonder Mayor Bloomberg— on the eve of the expiration of the SAIC contract— saw fit to demand a $600 million refund from SAIC on behalf of the City of New York!
“Mayor Bloomberg absolutely made the right decision in demanding a refund for this thief’s buffet,” said Council Member Letitia James. “I regret that he did not move to address this Citytime corruption when it first became apparent, perhaps it could’ve saved CUNY’s Vallone scholarship or DHS’ Advantage Program program, programs that offered options for low-income New Yorkers. Perhaps this money could’ve helped ease cuts to domestic violence services, criminal justice services, and city hospitals and health services. Allegations of greed and mismanagement were widespread for some time before the investigations proved them to be more than accurate.”
On September 2010, before any crimes were uncovered, Comptroller Liu announced his agreement with the administration to give SAIC a deadline of June 30, 2011 to complete all original work on the program. With the understanding that the delayed work would be completed, the program was allocated up to $32M for maintenance and support services alone. Around this time, Council Member Letitia James joined Local 375 (DC 37) in opposing the project. Council Member James cited what were at the time ‘accusations’ of administrative greed and mismanagement, as well as the ballooning costs of the program from an initial $68 million to what at the time was $700 million.
Council Member James has been a long-term opponent of the Citytime project, from her tenure of Chair of the Contracts Committee where she held two hearings on the project in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
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Kamis, 28 April 2011
CM James, Sanitation Committee Chair, Supports Legislation To Ease ASP Burden
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
April 28, 2011
Contact Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191
Council Member James, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Supports Legislation to Ease Alternate Side Parking Burden on Brooklyn Residents
New law reduces alt-side requirements for areas that meet cleanliness standards
(Brooklyn, NY) A proposed law, (Int 287-A) addresses the Mayor’s Office of Operation’s Scorecard Cleanliness Report, which determines street cleanliness. In March 2010, my office sent a letter to the department requesting to be included in any updates on the scorecard methodology, specifically any streets chosen to be “representative” streets for the purposes of the report.
This bill, sponsored by Council Member Brad Lander empowers community boards with an average cleanliness rating of 90%, over 2 consecutive years, to submit a request to the department to receive reduced street cleaning by one day (for a qualifying district). All community boards located within the 35th CD: 2, 3, 8, and 9 are eligible for this reduction. The department would have the option to resume the original street cleaning schedule if the sanitation district receives an average score of less than 90% under the Mayor's office of operations scorecard program for any period of three consecutive months, or if the average score of the sanitation district falls below 90% over a period of two consecutive fiscal years.
“After working with the Mayor’s Office of Operations regarding their scorecard cleanliness methodology, I am pleased with the legislation being put forth. The quality of life will be better for everyone in New York City when parking becomes easier and more available,” said Council Member James. “This is good news and should decrease the amount of expensive tickets given to drivers, as well as the hassle of moving cars. Also, I believe that through giving community boards with high cleanliness ratings the option to reduce street cleaning, we are empowering communities to make independent decisions in the best interest of local residents.”
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April 28, 2011
Contact Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191
Council Member James, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Supports Legislation to Ease Alternate Side Parking Burden on Brooklyn Residents
New law reduces alt-side requirements for areas that meet cleanliness standards
(Brooklyn, NY) A proposed law, (Int 287-A) addresses the Mayor’s Office of Operation’s Scorecard Cleanliness Report, which determines street cleanliness. In March 2010, my office sent a letter to the department requesting to be included in any updates on the scorecard methodology, specifically any streets chosen to be “representative” streets for the purposes of the report.
This bill, sponsored by Council Member Brad Lander empowers community boards with an average cleanliness rating of 90%, over 2 consecutive years, to submit a request to the department to receive reduced street cleaning by one day (for a qualifying district). All community boards located within the 35th CD: 2, 3, 8, and 9 are eligible for this reduction. The department would have the option to resume the original street cleaning schedule if the sanitation district receives an average score of less than 90% under the Mayor's office of operations scorecard program for any period of three consecutive months, or if the average score of the sanitation district falls below 90% over a period of two consecutive fiscal years.
“After working with the Mayor’s Office of Operations regarding their scorecard cleanliness methodology, I am pleased with the legislation being put forth. The quality of life will be better for everyone in New York City when parking becomes easier and more available,” said Council Member James. “This is good news and should decrease the amount of expensive tickets given to drivers, as well as the hassle of moving cars. Also, I believe that through giving community boards with high cleanliness ratings the option to reduce street cleaning, we are empowering communities to make independent decisions in the best interest of local residents.”
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Senin, 11 April 2011
CM James Joins BK Community Service in Opposition To Closure of Duffield Children's Center; 4/12; 5PM; City Hall
Duffield Children's Center is at risk of closing due to the City's proposed budget to cut as many as 16,000 subsidized child care slots.
The April 12, 2011 rally will be an opportunity to influence Mayor Bloomberg before he releases his budget at the end of April, so please join Brooklyn Community Services and other advocates at City Hall to advocate for Duffield Children's Center.
When: Tuesday, April 12th
5:00PM
Where: City Hall Steps
Who: Brooklyn Community Services
Council Member Letitia James
Read more here: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/City-to-Announce-116276129.html
Kamis, 07 April 2011
CM James Comments On Departure of Cathie Black as NYC DOE Chancellor
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
April 7, 2011
Contact Simone Hawkins at (212) 788-7081
Council Member Letitia James Comments On Departure of Cathleen Black as NYC Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor
“As coverage develops surrounding the sudden exit of Cathie Black, it demonstrates the Mayor’s senseless appointment of Ms. Black as schools chancellor. According to reports, the decision comes just a day after Santiago Taveras, Deputy Chancellor for Community Engagement, quit the department to join the private sector. This is a total exit four high-level deputies since Black’s short tenure.
Cathleen Black has no educational experience in relation to the nation’s largest public school system, which demonstrates that she was ill-suited for this position. It is my opinion that as a result of the changing faces at the DOE, all co-locations and school closures should be suspended until a full assessment of the impact of these shifts on the school system has been made. Additionally, the DOE Preliminary Budget Hearing scheduled for tomorrow in front of the NYC Council should be postponed, particularly in light of the proposed budget cuts.
The city has been plagued with incompetent administrators, which weighed heaviest on the children of this city. I am confident that Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott will work closely with all elected officials and communities to adequately assist our schools as Ms. Black’s replacement.
The Blizzard of 2011, CityTime, the Atlantic Yards project, and now this; many would consider this the third term curse.”
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April 7, 2011
Contact Simone Hawkins at (212) 788-7081
Council Member Letitia James Comments On Departure of Cathleen Black as NYC Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor
“As coverage develops surrounding the sudden exit of Cathie Black, it demonstrates the Mayor’s senseless appointment of Ms. Black as schools chancellor. According to reports, the decision comes just a day after Santiago Taveras, Deputy Chancellor for Community Engagement, quit the department to join the private sector. This is a total exit four high-level deputies since Black’s short tenure.
Cathleen Black has no educational experience in relation to the nation’s largest public school system, which demonstrates that she was ill-suited for this position. It is my opinion that as a result of the changing faces at the DOE, all co-locations and school closures should be suspended until a full assessment of the impact of these shifts on the school system has been made. Additionally, the DOE Preliminary Budget Hearing scheduled for tomorrow in front of the NYC Council should be postponed, particularly in light of the proposed budget cuts.
The city has been plagued with incompetent administrators, which weighed heaviest on the children of this city. I am confident that Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott will work closely with all elected officials and communities to adequately assist our schools as Ms. Black’s replacement.
The Blizzard of 2011, CityTime, the Atlantic Yards project, and now this; many would consider this the third term curse.”
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Rabu, 30 Maret 2011
CM James Suggests Early Retirement Incentive for City Employees
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** March 30, 2011
Contact Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191
COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA JAMES SUGGESTS MAYOR BLOOMBERG RECONSIDER AN EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE (ERI) FOR ALL CITY EMPLOYEES TO LOWER COSTS
(Brooklyn, NY) According to research and expert advice, I agree that a buyout or early retirement incentive is a tried and proven method to get salaried workers to voluntarily step aside, saving jobs of younger workers who can least afford to be out of work.
Simply put, it's the least painful way to reduce the work force. If Mayor Bloomberg is so adamantly opposed (at present, when he previously endorsed such a plan in 2002) to an early retirement incentive, let him release a detailed financial analysis as to why it is not viable option to be explored with the public and the unions. NYC employee's financial and emotional lives hang in the balance and all options should be aired openly and honestly to find the most effective way of dealing with the fiscal problems of today.
In a buyout, the rate of “back filling” or rehiring is the most crucial determinant for success or failure. At present, if a City worker leaves or retires the position or line is lost, there is no rehire, hence a shrinking workforce. Combined with hiring freezes controlled by the Mayor - who has strict governance over the city’s workforce and therefore payroll expenses - he could employ an early retirement incentive to maximize payroll savings, ASAP.
Unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for laid off workers, loss of city and state tax revenue, loss of health insurance for many families, possible foreclosures etc., as well as the emotional upheaval that ripples outward is a huge avoidable cost. This type of information (overall social cost) is rarely addressed when quantifying the overall success or failure of an early retirement incentive. For example, simple math - layoff teachers verses an early retirement incentive for all agencies: if you lay off 4,600 workers (teachers) and pay each unemployment insurance of $400 per week for 99 weeks that’s 400 x 4,600 = 1.84million x 99 weeks = a potential $182 million dollars. This does not include driving current and potential teachers from the profession, and the 4,600 former professional middle class New Yorkers who would join the expanding pool of the 9% unemployed.
In summary, an early retirement incentive would continue to reduce the City work force with immediate cost savings (rather than pension relief that would take decades to materialize and that the NYS Legislature appears reluctant to overturn), and have a lesser impact on career civil servants. It forces NYC agencies to do more with less, while negatively impacting society to a lesser degree, as opposed to sending thousands of workers into a very poor job market.
I ask the Bloomberg Administration to address this viable alternative and statistically explain the resistance to such a course of action. There appears no opposition from the workers, the unions, the City Council, the NYS Legislature - only the Mayor stands opposed.
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Contact Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191
COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA JAMES SUGGESTS MAYOR BLOOMBERG RECONSIDER AN EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE (ERI) FOR ALL CITY EMPLOYEES TO LOWER COSTS
(Brooklyn, NY) According to research and expert advice, I agree that a buyout or early retirement incentive is a tried and proven method to get salaried workers to voluntarily step aside, saving jobs of younger workers who can least afford to be out of work.
Simply put, it's the least painful way to reduce the work force. If Mayor Bloomberg is so adamantly opposed (at present, when he previously endorsed such a plan in 2002) to an early retirement incentive, let him release a detailed financial analysis as to why it is not viable option to be explored with the public and the unions. NYC employee's financial and emotional lives hang in the balance and all options should be aired openly and honestly to find the most effective way of dealing with the fiscal problems of today.
In a buyout, the rate of “back filling” or rehiring is the most crucial determinant for success or failure. At present, if a City worker leaves or retires the position or line is lost, there is no rehire, hence a shrinking workforce. Combined with hiring freezes controlled by the Mayor - who has strict governance over the city’s workforce and therefore payroll expenses - he could employ an early retirement incentive to maximize payroll savings, ASAP.
Unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for laid off workers, loss of city and state tax revenue, loss of health insurance for many families, possible foreclosures etc., as well as the emotional upheaval that ripples outward is a huge avoidable cost. This type of information (overall social cost) is rarely addressed when quantifying the overall success or failure of an early retirement incentive. For example, simple math - layoff teachers verses an early retirement incentive for all agencies: if you lay off 4,600 workers (teachers) and pay each unemployment insurance of $400 per week for 99 weeks that’s 400 x 4,600 = 1.84million x 99 weeks = a potential $182 million dollars. This does not include driving current and potential teachers from the profession, and the 4,600 former professional middle class New Yorkers who would join the expanding pool of the 9% unemployed.
In summary, an early retirement incentive would continue to reduce the City work force with immediate cost savings (rather than pension relief that would take decades to materialize and that the NYS Legislature appears reluctant to overturn), and have a lesser impact on career civil servants. It forces NYC agencies to do more with less, while negatively impacting society to a lesser degree, as opposed to sending thousands of workers into a very poor job market.
I ask the Bloomberg Administration to address this viable alternative and statistically explain the resistance to such a course of action. There appears no opposition from the workers, the unions, the City Council, the NYS Legislature - only the Mayor stands opposed.
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Jumat, 25 Maret 2011
CM James Responds To Deputy Mayor Goldsmith Daily News Op-ed; Outsourcing IT Jobs
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
March 25, 2011
Contact: Aja Worthy-Davis at (212) 788-7081
New York, NY— “On Thursday, March 24, 2011, the New York Daily News covered an op-ed by New York City Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith concerning the outsourcing of IT positions to private contractors.
Deputy Mayor Goldsmith asserted that the issue at hand was not the outsourcing itself, but rather that the administration needed to place more attention towards employing City workers to perform IT duties. It seems plain to me that if City workers could be trained to perform these IT duties for less money, then much of this outsourcing constitutes unnecessary and wasteful spending.
That said, training City workers to perform contracted IT duties, and strengthening oversight of contractors, are excellent steps to addressing the ballooning costs of City contracting positions well within the scope of municipal workers. I commend the administration for taking positive steps in centralizing the City’s data server, as well as using public workers to manage the City’s wireless network and Business Express tool.
In fact, the Emergency Communications Transformation Program (ECTP) project, and the $286M contract that was originally proposed to New York City Comptroller John Liu, is a fair example of where the administration needs to increase oversight. The ECTP project seeked to upgrade the City’s 9-1-1 system by establishing two unified 9-1-1 emergency call center systems.
As was the issue with the Citytime contract, the cost of the ECTP project mushroomed from an initial $380M to $666M without significant changes. In fact, six years after the ECTP contract was originally awarded, the Brooklyn 9-1-1 Center was still not fully operational and one year behind schedule. For these reasons, Comptroller Liu’s rejected renewal of the contract for $286M, citing such issues as lack of transparency over time and expense billing arrangement, multiple layers of subcontractors, and significant cost overruns. On March 15, 2011, Comptroller Liu registered a $95M fixed-price contract for the project, with an agreement of increased communication with his office on ongoing budget matters.
If the administration is truly committed to addressing the oversight and management of private contractors, then there must be a mechanism in place to examine these contracts before they reach the Comptroller’s desk.
Again, I commend the administration on taking initial steps to address the fiscal and transparency issues associated with private contractors, and I hope that the outsourcing of positions other than IT will be addressed. I also hope that these administrative changes will include the recommendations of the Council’s Committee on Contracts as well as unions. I look forward to working together to address these issues.”
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Contact: Aja Worthy-Davis at (212) 788-7081
Council Member Letitia James Releases Statement In Response To Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's Daily News Op-ed On Outsourcing IT Jobs
Commends Efforts to Increase Positions for City Workers, Cites Additional Need for Oversight
Deputy Mayor Goldsmith asserted that the issue at hand was not the outsourcing itself, but rather that the administration needed to place more attention towards employing City workers to perform IT duties. It seems plain to me that if City workers could be trained to perform these IT duties for less money, then much of this outsourcing constitutes unnecessary and wasteful spending.
That said, training City workers to perform contracted IT duties, and strengthening oversight of contractors, are excellent steps to addressing the ballooning costs of City contracting positions well within the scope of municipal workers. I commend the administration for taking positive steps in centralizing the City’s data server, as well as using public workers to manage the City’s wireless network and Business Express tool.
In fact, the Emergency Communications Transformation Program (ECTP) project, and the $286M contract that was originally proposed to New York City Comptroller John Liu, is a fair example of where the administration needs to increase oversight. The ECTP project seeked to upgrade the City’s 9-1-1 system by establishing two unified 9-1-1 emergency call center systems.
As was the issue with the Citytime contract, the cost of the ECTP project mushroomed from an initial $380M to $666M without significant changes. In fact, six years after the ECTP contract was originally awarded, the Brooklyn 9-1-1 Center was still not fully operational and one year behind schedule. For these reasons, Comptroller Liu’s rejected renewal of the contract for $286M, citing such issues as lack of transparency over time and expense billing arrangement, multiple layers of subcontractors, and significant cost overruns. On March 15, 2011, Comptroller Liu registered a $95M fixed-price contract for the project, with an agreement of increased communication with his office on ongoing budget matters.
If the administration is truly committed to addressing the oversight and management of private contractors, then there must be a mechanism in place to examine these contracts before they reach the Comptroller’s desk.
Again, I commend the administration on taking initial steps to address the fiscal and transparency issues associated with private contractors, and I hope that the outsourcing of positions other than IT will be addressed. I also hope that these administrative changes will include the recommendations of the Council’s Committee on Contracts as well as unions. I look forward to working together to address these issues.”
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