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Thread: New York State Comptroller finds over sight issues with Towns spending practices !

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    New York State Comptroller finds over sight issues with Towns spending practices !

    West Seneca needs better spending over sight -

    Professional Services – The Town’s procurement policy does not require the solicitation of written proposals or quotations for the acquisition of professional services.

    Nevertheless, it is a good business practice that professional services be awarded after first soliciting competition. We reviewed eight claims totaling $106,331 from professional service vendors used by the Town. Although officials told us that they use RFPs for professional services, they were unable to provide us with copies of proposals to support this statement or any documentation that RFPs were used, such as a copy of an RFP or a newspaper notification seeking potential vendors. In addition, we identified several concerns related to the professional service claims we reviewed.

    • The Town entered into an agreement with a consultant in November 2013 to conduct an economic and fiscal impact analysis for a potential development project. Officials provided us with an unsigned contract that referenced a fixed fee of $25,000. We were later told that the Board approved increasing this amount to $39,805; however, we were not provided evidence of this approval.

    The Town ended up paying the consultant $44,805 which is at least $5,000 more than they agreed to. The last three invoices from the consultant showed an inaccurate amount in the “Invoiced to Date” line and made it appear as though there was still a balance left on the contract. This resulted in the Town overpaying the consultant, believing that there was still a balance remaining. A thorough audit of the claims may have identified the incorrect billing prior to the Town making the overpayments.

    The Supervisor stated that she would investigate this and seek a reimbursement if necessary. As of December 2014, the Town had not received the reimbursement.

    • The Town hired an engineering firm to provide general engineering services to the Town at a cost not to exceed $120,000.00

    In addition to providing general engineering services, the Town also separately contracts with this engineering firm for other miscellaneous engineering projects.

    Town officials indicated that they did not solicit proposals from any other engineering firms for a $1.9 million project that began in 2013.

    By not requiring proposals from competing engineering firms, the Town may not have gotten the best price or the most favorable terms and conditions for the project. There is also a risk that the Town’s engineering firm may have been given an unfair advantage on this project.

    When Town officials and employees do not adhere to the provisions of the procurement policy or properly approve claims prior to payment, they cannot provide reasonable assurance that the lowest price is obtained for the product or service to be acquired.

    The Board should:

    1. Annually review the procurement policy and periodically
    update it, as necessary, to ensure it is consistent with any
    statutory requirements and meets the needs of the Town.

    2. Adhere to the purchasing resolution which requires Board
    approval prior to committing for a purchase that is more than
    $5,000.

    3. Audit and approve claims prior to payment.

    4. Require Town officials to attach the appropriate documentation
    to each electronic claim so the Board or Comptroller can
    conduct a thorough audit and ensure that officials are following
    the Town’s procurement policy.

    5. Require Town officials and employees to obtain written and
    oral quotes as required by the procurement policy.

    6. Consider issuing RFPs for professional services in order to
    obtain the desired service with the most favorable terms.

    7. Review the invoices from the personal services consultant
    and seek reimbursement for any payments that were above
    the agreed contract amount.

    http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/rel...072215brelease
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

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    Member nogods's Avatar
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    By not requiring proposals from competing engineering firms, the Town may not have gotten the best price or the most favorable terms and conditions for the project. There is also a risk that the Town’s engineering firm may have been given an unfair advantage on this project.
    Do you know what an unfair advantage is?

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    Quote Originally Posted by nogods View Post
    Do you know what an unfair advantage is?
    Here maybe you can contact the Comptroller and explain it to him or his staff.

    New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
    Office of the State Comptroller
    Office of the State Comptroller
    contactus@osc.state.ny.us
    Albany Office
    110 State Street, Albany, NY 12236 518-474-4044

    New York City Office
    59 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
    212-383-1600

    If you hadn't wasted so much time hanging out in the Hall way outside the Cheektowaga Court room - you too might have acquired a real job - but then again its easier being a Party Fed Ambulance chaser !
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

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    Member nogods's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4248 View Post
    Here maybe you can contact the Comptroller and explain it to him or his staff.

    New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
    Office of the State Comptroller
    Office of the State Comptroller
    contactus@osc.state.ny.us
    Albany Office
    110 State Street, Albany, NY 12236 518-474-4044

    New York City Office
    59 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
    212-383-1600

    If you hadn't wasted so much time hanging out in the Hall way outside the Cheektowaga Court room - you too might have acquired a real job - but then again its easier being a Party Fed Ambulance chaser !
    In other words, you don't know what an "unfair advantage" is. You just regurgitate phrases hoping they mean something of substance.

  5. #5
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    By not requiring proposals from competing engineering firms, the Town may not have gotten the best price or the most favorable terms and conditions for the project. There is also a risk that the Town’s engineering firm may have been given an unfair advantage on this project.
    nogods
    In other words, you don't know what an "unfair advantage" is. You just regurgitate phrases hoping they mean something of substance.
    It's common sense. It gives one vendor of a service or product an unfair advantage over other vendors.

    "unfair advantage" could be:

    Just loose examples

    Giving one vendor some pricing up front so they know what they are dealing with on pricing.

    Configuring a bid specification in such a way it purposely narrows down anyone who can bid on a project.

    Letting a company know they will be the only ones bidding on a project which means pricing may not be the deciding factor.

    Or having a "bid" and only one or two vendors know the bid exists.

  6. #6
    Member nogods's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WNYresident View Post
    It's common sense. It gives one vendor of a service or product an unfair advantage over other vendors.

    "unfair advantage" could be:

    Just loose examples

    Giving one vendor some pricing up front so they know what they are dealing with on pricing.

    Configuring a bid specification in such a way it purposely narrows down anyone who can bid on a project.

    Letting a company know they will be the only ones bidding on a project which means pricing may not be the deciding factor.

    Or having a "bid" and only one or two vendors know the bid exists.
    Exactly....except the comment was made about a contractor getting an unfair advantage where there was no bid!!!

    So all of your examples, which I agree with BTW, have nothing to do with circumstances that don't involve a bid. The selected contractor doesn't get an 'unfair advantage" over other bidders or other contractors because there are no other bidders or other contractors competing for the bid. It was a nonsensical sentence thrown into the report that is simply not applicable.

    The employee of the comptroller's office who wrote that sentence wasn't thinking and the person who regurgitated it (and underlined it) was thinking even less.

    There are a lot of reasoned objections to contracts let without bidding, but the process of letting a contract without bidding cannot give rise to "an unfair advantage on this project".

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    Again - because your smarter then the people who work for the NYS Comptroller - email - call or write them and see if they can change their report.

    I didn't write it - I "QUOTED" it word for word.

    Do you have some personal connection here that upsets you ? Do you do some tax funded work for West Seneca too ?

    New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
    Office of the State Comptroller
    Office of the State Comptroller
    contactus@osc.state.ny.us
    Albany Office
    110 State Street, Albany, NY 12236 518-474-4044

    New York City Office
    59 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
    212-383-1600
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

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    I suppose one could argue that very act of granting a contract without bid is an unfair advantage, but why bother. The Comptroller duly noted it.

  9. #9
    Member nogods's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    I suppose one could argue that very act of granting a contract without bid is an unfair advantage, but why bother. The Comptroller duly noted it.
    An unfair advantage to who? An unfair advantage over who? The only party that participated in the process?

    The point is that when you have only one participant in a process, there is no one else to have an "unfair advantage" over.

    The person at the comptroller's office who wrote that sentence is an idiot - and we are depending on that idiot to watch over the fiscs of our local governments.

    What they should have said is that the no-bid process might have cost taxpayers more for the services.

    When a bid process is used, there are things that could be done that would give one bidder and unfair advantage over the other, but if you are an employee of the comptroller's office and you don't understand the basic concepts, then how the hell can we depend on your judgement at all?

  10. #10
    Member nogods's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4248 View Post
    Again - because your smarter then the people who work for the NYS Comptroller - email - call or write them and see if they can change their report.

    I didn't write it - I "QUOTED" it word for word.

    Do you have some personal connection here that upsets you ? Do you do some tax funded work for West Seneca too ?

    New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
    Office of the State Comptroller
    Office of the State Comptroller
    contactus@osc.state.ny.us
    Albany Office
    110 State Street, Albany, NY 12236 518-474-4044

    New York City Office
    59 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
    212-383-1600
    You underlined the "unfair advantage" portion, did you not.

    What you should have done is underlined it and then stated "this makes no sense, a single participant in a process can't get an unfair advantage because there are no other participants. this comptroller's employee needs to go back to audit school."

    But nope, you underlined it as if it was a valid conclusion of the comptroller.

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    Well, you're a liberal Dem and so is the comptroller and I don't depend on his judgment or yours. By the way, it's a hell of a thing that a lawyer can't spell "judgment"!

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    I would rather put my faith in some, any Comptrollers report
    - even if there's a error
    - than to believe - A tax funded Party Lawyer who makes a living twisting words and laws to justify his self serving life and protect his Party Friends !
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

  13. #13
    Member dtwarren's Avatar
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    One would think that after having a petition to remove the supervisor and the comptroller on their failure to abide by these very same requirements (as it relates to the auditing of claims) that some progress would be made in this area and they would have more carefully examined their processes before this audit.

    Also given that Hart worked for the State Comptroller’s office and he repeatedly has demonstrated his lack of understanding in this regard and this is further proof of that.
    “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ― Thomas Jefferson

  14. #14
    Member nogods's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4248 View Post
    I would rather put my faith in some, any Comptrollers report
    - even if there's a error
    - than to believe - A tax funded Party Lawyer who makes a living twisting words and laws to justify his self serving life and protect his Party Friends !
    It isn't "faith" - it is your ignorance that left you believing a one party participant got an "unfair advantage" over no one else.

    You can't fix a plugged toilet when you think the problem is a blown fuse. That's why you'll spend your life as a frustrated internet complainer.

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    The thing that frustrates me is how people like you and your Party Playin tax subsidized friends have corrupted our Government for your "Game" ! I believe in our system - always did - I don't have to prove the corruption exists - you verify it for me !

    Other then that - my life is cool thank you ! I smile everyday - America is a great place to live - I travel a bit too !

    This here "Internet stuff to me is bubble gum" - I don't take it to heart - enjoy smart guy !

    Its your world being exposed - you earned it !
    Last edited by 4248; July 28th, 2015 at 07:47 PM.
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

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