April 4, 2014
By Alan Schulkin
New York, NY – Comptroller Scott M. Stringer has announced his office plans to upgrade and standardize oversight of Information Technology (IT) contracts with New York City. “We’ve seen how millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent improperly due to lack of oversight and accountability,"
Stringer said.
Currently, there are no minimum standards for “Time and Materials” (billed by the hour) contracts for IT consultants including how City agencies process and verify IT consultant timesheets; how City agencies verify consultant credentials and work effort when approving invoices for payment; or what the roles and responsibilities are for City IT contract managers.
The Comptroller's directive will require:
Time sheets to include a detailed description of the type of work completed and where it was performed. Time sheets must be submitted within one month of the work being performed and approved by the City no more than one month later;
Agencies to verify an individual’s qualifications for the rate at which the contractor is billing the City;
A City employee to certify time sheets are accurate and an independent City employee to review these time sheets to ensure they correspond to contract parameters; and
Agencies must specify the maximum allowable mark ups for personnel and material costs.
“I am looking at issues across the City, from settlements to audits to accounting, for ways in which we can work smarter, save money and get better results for taxpayers,” Stringer said. “This directive will codify requirements for how the City oversees and manages payments to IT contract workers. We will be working with City agencies over the coming weeks to implement this directive."
