Health Department Forms Folder 0038, 2000-2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document :,

its interpretation of various court cases, rules and statutes should replace good governance. That position is unfortunate, because the real issue is not what can or cannot be legally reviewed by this Office in the context of registration, it is about what's right for the people to whom we have sworn to serve. MOC's position serves no one but itself.

To set the record straight about the two contracts cited in your August 25'h letter: it was explained to you previously that United Interfaith Action Council of Brooklyn, Inc.'s (United) renewal contract was reluctantly rejected due to an incomplete Advice of Award and a missing VENDEX filing. Only 2 of the 6 pages of the Advice of Award were provided to this Office by the Administration for Children's Services (ACS). The missing pages contained not only commodity information, but also financial and accounting information in addition to the signature and certification required by sound internal control processes and the Procurement Policy Board Rules. ACS was well aware of the full scope of the missing documentation, and I'm sure they communicated that information to you.

As far as the missing VENDEX disclosure form is concerned, United, not the Comptroller's Office, identified Mr. Eversley, Sr. as an individual who they considered to be a principal, owner or officer of the firm. The VENDEX instructions state that "All individuals listed [by the Vendor) . . . must complete individual questionnaires." We would not presume to question every vendor to determine if they were correct; they, not us, are in the best position to make that judgement call. We also would not accept a representation made solely by an individual that its firm was incorrect in requiring them to complete a VENDEX form, and doubt you would if you were not desperately attempting to extricate yourself from an indefensible position. Such representations could often be self serving. In addition, simply because an individual holds a title that is not specifically required to provide VENDEX information, such as a Board Member, does not mean that they are exempt from the requirement. One's title is irrelevant, it is the function they perform that is important. Lastly, if the VENDEX database, which is maintained by MOC, had accurate data for Mr. Eversley, this might not have been an issue. However, since the database was not kept up to date by MOC, we had no choice but to request the missing paperwork in order to review Mr. Eversley's responses to the questionnaire.

You are also mistaken in your belief that this Office attempted to shift the blame for the delay experienced by United onto the Administration. Rather, our comments regarding contracts that are not submitted for registration until after they have begun, often many months after, was addressed to all human service contracts, not just United. We were amazed, however, by your unsuccessful attempt to transfer any and all responsibility for contract delays to the dedicated procurement staff of the City agencies.

As the chart below illustrates, delayed contract submissions are an extensive problem that has progressively deteriorated, especially over the last 3 years.

We have limited the analysis to the major human service contract agencies. They are: Administration for Children's Services, Department of Social Services/HRA. Mayor's Office, Department of Mental Health, Department of Homeless Services, Department of Youth and Community Development, Department of Employment, Department for the Aging and the Department of Health. 2

NYC-WTC 000138181