State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office approved 1,739 contracts valued at $3.25 billion and approved 4.3 million payments worth $10.4 billion in February. His office also rejected 232 contracts and related transactions valued at $2.65 billion and approximately 6,500 payments valued at $11.9 million due to fraud, waste or other improprieties.

Cumulatively through February for calendar year 2016, DiNapoli’s office has approved 3,175 contracts valued at $7.78 billion and approved 6.2 million payments worth $20.5 billion. His office has also rejected 402 contracts and related transactions valued at $5.29 billion and approximately 10,700 payments valued at $14.6 million.

As the state’s chief financial officer, DiNapoli’s office reviews contracts for all state agencies and certain state public authorities and audits all state payments. This independent review ensures that costs are reasonable, the playing field is level and taxpayers get the best value for their money. These independent audits also help ensure payments are free from fraud, waste and improprieties. The Comptroller’s office averaged eight days for contract reviews in February and two days to audit payments.

DiNapoli releases this monthly notice to provide current information about the number and types of contracts and payments by the state. This builds on his commitment to added transparency via his Open Book New York website.

Highlights for February 2016:

Major Contracts Approved

Department of Agriculture and Markets

• $3.8 million for nine pollution abatement grants to soil and water conservation districts, including $1.1 million to Delaware County, $751,000 to Montgomery County and $369,000 to Genesee County.
• $429,000 in revenue to the state for State Fairgrounds facility rentals for events including a boat show, RV show and the Sportsman’s Expo.

Council on the Arts

• $13.2 million for 115 cultural services grants, including $560,000 to the Arts Center of the Capital Region, $500,000 to the Philharmonic Society of New York and $260,000 to the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts.

 Department of Civil Service

• $1.1 billion with Beacon Health Options for mental health and substance abuse services for the state and local government employee health insurance program.

State Education Department

• $13.1 million with University of Kansas Center for Research for an assessment of computer based testing.
• $10.4 million with Successful Practices Network Inc. for research and support services for NYS Career and Technical Education Technical Assistance Center.

Department of Environmental Conservation

• $791,000 in revenue to the state for six contracts for the sale of state forest products, including $218,000 with Wadsworth Logging Inc. and $172,000 with Prentiss and Carlisle Management Co. Inc.
• $595,000 with DLH Energy Service LLC to plug abandoned oil and gas wells.

Office of General Services

• $32.9 million with The Wesson Group LLC to expand midway and RV sites at the state fairgrounds.
• $3 million with C&S Engineers to design the expo center and equestrian facility at the state fairgrounds.
• $1.5 million with The Gordian Group for job order contracting consultant services.

Department of Health

• $1.35 billion with Healthplus HP LLC for the New York State of Health Essential Plan and Basic Health Plan participation.

New York State Legislature – Assembly

• $150,000 contract extension with Rossein Associates for outside counsel related to sexual harassment policy development and investigations.

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

• $529,000 in 21 revenue contracts for boat berth licenses at Captree State Park on Long Island, including $77,000 with Captain Dan Fishing Corp., $24,000 with Captain Rod Inc., $24,000 with Captain Ed Laske, Inc. and $23,000 with Captain Nick’s Fishing Corp.

Department of Transportation

• $13.1 million to Amtrak to support New York and Vermont service.
• $10.6 million with Defoe Corp. for bridge maintenance in Westchester and Putnam counties.
• $9.9 million with Luck Brothers Inc. for bridge replacement over the Ausable River in Clinton and Essex counties.
• $1.5 million to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for membership fees.
• $1.2 million to the town of Fallsburg for the Hurlyville Milk Train Rail Trail Project.

Major Payments Approved

Tax Refunds

• $1.4 billion for 1.5 million personal income tax refunds.
• $177.3 million for 18,000 corporate and other refunds.
• $335.9 million for 789,000 property tax freeze credits.

Office of Children and Family Services

• $868,000 to Lighthouse International for comprehensive services for the blind.

Department of Economic Development

• $1.7 million to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the Center for Advanced Technology.

State Education Department

• $41 million to Rochester City School District, $24.5 million to Syracuse City School District, and $22.7 million to Brentwood Union Free School District for state aid payments.
• $324,000 to Questar Assessment, Inc. for development of state assessments in elementary and intermediate level English language arts and mathematics.

Gaming Commission

• $8 million to McCann Erickson USA Inc. for media planning and buying services for traditional NYS lottery products such as Mega Millions, Power Ball and scratch-off tickets.

Office of General Services

• $15.9 million for hourly-based IT services, including $3.5 million to IIT Inc. and $2.8 million to Knowledge Builders Inc.
• $1.6 million to the Albany Convention Center Authority for the Albany Capital Center project.

Department of Health

• $16.4 million to Currier, McCabe & Associates, Inc. to implement a replacement Medicaid Data Warehouse and provide support for the Office of Health Insurance Programs Data Mart.
• $14.4 million to Maximus Inc. and $10.7 million to Computer Sciences Corporation for assistance with the state’s Health Benefit Exchange.

New York State Legislature – Assembly

• $40,000 to Rossein Associates for outside counsel related to sexual harassment policy development and investigations.

New York State Legislature – Senate

• $758,000 to National Office Furniture Inc. for furnishings.

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

• $3.4 million to Open Space Institute Land Trust Inc. for the purchase of Goosepond Mountain land in Chester, Orange County.
• $1.2 million to Scott Lawn Yard, Inc. for Cave of the Winds Plaza reconstruction at Niagara Falls State Park.

State University Construction Fund

• $1 million to FAHS Construction Group to rehabilitate the physical science building at SUNY Oneonta.

New York State Thruway Authority

• $55.8 million to Tappan Zee Constructors LLC for the Tappan Zee Bridge Project.
• $1.5 million to HNTB New York Engineering & Architecture PC for Tappan Zee Bridge engineering services.

Department of Transportation

• $3.8 million to Halmar/A Servidone-B Anthony LLC to rehabilitate the Patroon Island Bridge on I-90 in Albany.
• $833,000 to DA Collins Construction Co., Inc. to rehabilitate the South Mall Arterial bridges on I-787 to the Empire State Plaza and over Eagle Street in Albany.

Payment Rejections and Other Cost Recoveries

The Comptroller’s rejection of 6,500 payments valued at approximately $11.9 million included nearly 3,000 tax refunds valued at $4 million. DiNapoli’s auditors also recovered more than $112,000 from vendors owing debts to the state, and held payments of more than $1.6 million pending resolution of disputes between subcontractors and prime contractors.

Open Book New York

For access to state and local government spending, public authority financial data and information on 50,000 state contracts, visit Open Book New York. The easy-to-use website was created by DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.