New Vendor Compliance Cabinet Formed to Help City Agencies 'Get Stuff Done' | MOCS

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Director

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New Vendor Compliance Cabinet Formed to Help City Agencies 'Get Stuff Done'

June 1, 2023

The Cabinet is tasked with identifying ways to more effectively address integrity issues that arise with City vendors, eliminating delays in contracting and payment.

MOCS and MORMC to co-chair the Cabinet.

MONS to serve as special advisor.

NEW YORK – The New York City Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS) announced today the convening of the Vendor Compliance Cabinet ("the Cabinet"), a body responsible for identifying gaps in policies and procedures that make it difficult for agencies to enforce compliance. Co-chaired by MOCS Director Lisa Flores and the Mayor's Office of Risk Management and Compliance (MORMC) Director Marjorie Landa, the Cabinet is composed of representatives from New York City's agencies with health and human services contracts (HHS agencies). The Mayor's Office for Nonprofit Services (MONS) Director Karen Ford will serve as special advisor to the Cabinet.

Rebuilding relationships with City contractors – especially with nonprofit providers – is a top priority for the Adams administration. The formation of the Cabinet is a direct response to the administration's promise to take swift action to address issues with contract processing and payment. In February 2022, the Joint Taskforce to Get Nonprofits Paid on Time (the "Taskforce") found that significant delays in contracting and payment resulted from the City's processes that require agencies to conduct vendor responsibility determinations for each contract. Recognizing that most HHS vendors are responsible stewards of City dollars issues and the City often holds multiple contracts with the same vendors, the Taskforce recommended the creation of new tools to enable the City to more effectively use its resources to identify and address integrity issues with City vendors.

"New York City's accountability professionals are coming together to rethink policies and regulations that have significantly delayed the contracting process and payment for our City's nonprofit partners," said New York City Mayor's Office of Contract Services Director Lisa Flores. "The Vendor Compliance Cabinet is more than just a body of procurement and oversight professionals; it is a foundation to completely reimagine the way the City does business with human service providers. For the first time in New York City history, we are empowering City agency leaders to review and revise Citywide contract policy that impedes the City's ability to deliver the crucial services New Yorkers need to live and thrive. This is an exciting next step to achieving our goal of a more seamless, accessible and equitable contracting process."

"The Vendor Compliance Cabinet gives City agencies the opportunity to share information and learn what each other is doing, particularly as concerns the vendors we all work with," said New York City Mayor's Office of Risk Management and Compliance Director Marjorie Landa. "It's a proven model that will help ensure that the City coordinates work, and speeds up solutions to common concerns."

"Bringing key decision makers together in each city agency, focused on sharing relevant information will strengthen our commitment to improving the contracting experience for our Nonprofit Business Partners," said New York City Mayor's Office for Nonprofit Services Executive Director Karen Ford.

The Cabinet will convene monthly to discuss challenges and obstacles to the City's contracting process and purpose solutions designed to eliminate unnecessary process burden and increase compliance. Ultimately, working to meet the administration's goals of:

Increasing the transparency of vendor compliance and accountability.

Reducing risks and costs by closing policy gaps and identifying savings.

Strengthening contract oversight and management practices.

Gaining contracting efficiencies through strategic risk management.

The Cabinet is scheduled to meet in June 2023. Agency Members are:

New York City Administration for Children's Services

Michael Walker, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Richard Beck, Associate Commissioner

Alane Ruchman, Chief of Staff

Karri Mayhan, Assistant Commissioner

New York City Department of Corrections

Carlo Difava, Acting Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Keesha Smartt, Director of Compliance/MWBE Officer

Melissa Pride-Thomas, Contract Payment Coordinator

Kevin Phillips, Internal Auditor

New York City Department of Education

Elisheba Lewi, Chief Procurement Officer

Danya Labban, Auditor General

Joshua Richardson, Director of Compliance

New York City Department of Social Services

Vincent Pullo, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Bedros Boodanian, Chief Accountability Officer

Toshia McKnight, Special Counsel

New York City Department for the Aging

Erkan Solak, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Kristen Fitzgerald, Senior Advisor, Bureau of Financial Services

New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Sarah Packman, Assistant Commissioner

Michelle DeFreitas-Withim, Executive Agency Counsel, Contracts

Judi Soehren, Chief Contracting Officer, M/WBE Officer

New York City Department of Probation

Eileen Parfrey-Smith, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

New York City Department of Small Business Services

Anthony Dell'Olio, General Counsel

Daryl Williams, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Ismail Mohamed, Assistant Commissioner for Fiscal

New York City Department of Youth and Community Development

Chris Lahey, Acting Auditor General

Dana Cantelmi, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Caroline Press, General Counsel

New York City Housing Preservation and Development

Ledwin Martinez, Agency Chief Contracting Officer

Alexandra Guadeloupe, Senior Project Manager, Office of Neighborhood Strategies

New York City Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice

Candice Julien, Chief Operating Officer

Xiong Huang, Senior Auditor