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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

        

DiNapoli Announces State Contract and Payment Actions for June 2016

July 21, 2016

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office approved 1,984 contracts valued at $2.8 billion and approved more than 1.9 million payments worth more than $11.8 billion in June.  His office also rejected 238 contracts and related transactions valued at $560 million and nearly 1,000 payments valued at more than $8.2 million due to fraud, waste or other improprieties.

Cumulatively through June for calendar year 2016, DiNapoli’s office has approved 9,902 contracts valued at $31.4 billion and approved nearly 18.5 million payments worth more than $74.8 billion.  His office has also rejected 1,175 contracts and related transactions valued at $7.5 billion and more than more than 29,000 payments valued at more than $57 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 7.5 days for contract reviews in June 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 June 2016:

Legislative Travel and Per Diem Expenses

Legislative travel and per diem expenses for calendar years 2013 through the second quarter of 2016 are posted in the Comptroller's reading room. This information is updated quarterly.

Major Contracts Approved

Office of the State Comptroller
  • $15.8 million to identify and collect out-of-state abandoned property including $5 million to Versus Financial LLC, $5 million to Xerox State and Local Solutions LLC, $3.5 million to Kelmar Associates LLC and $2.3 million to Audit Services US LLC.
Department of Economic Development
  • $20 million for six Regional Technology Development Center grants including $4.3 million each to Hudson Valley Technology Development and Western NY Technology Development.
  • $8.7 million for High Tech Matching Grant Leverage Program, including $3 million each to Cornell University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
  • $1.5 million to SUNY Research Foundation for operation of the Nanoscale and Engineering Focus Center.
  • $600,000 grant to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the RPI Smart Lighting Systems Engineering Research Center.
  • $450,000 for two athletic team sponsor agreements: $250,000 with Syracuse Crunch and $200,000 with Utica Comets.
  • $100,000 with the Council of Great Lakes Governors for trade development services in Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico and South Africa.
Governor’s Office of Employee Relations
  • $5.9 million to the Police Benevolent Association of NYS for collective bargaining agreement benefits for state troopers.
  • $1.4 million to the Police Benevolent Association of NYS for collective bargaining agreement benefits for commissioned and non-commissioned officers.
Department of Environmental Conservation
  • $15 million with the U. S. Geological Survey for water resources programs and investigations.
  • $2.6 million for eight water quality management and improvement grants including $904,000 to the city of Troy, $255,000 to the town of Hamilton and $125,000 to the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District.
  • $510,000 to the town of German Flatts for the Mohawk Basin flood control project.
Office of General Services
  • $68.9 million for 48 contracts for security systems including $34 million with Motorola Solutions, $8.7 million with LD Allen Communications Inc. and $6 million with Harris Corporation.
  • $13.9 million for construction contracts for the State Police zone headquarters in Hempstead.
  • $12 million for stand-by architectural and engineering services contracts, including $3 million each with Sage Engineering Associates Inc.; Bergmann Associates; Delta Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors; and FPM Engineering Group.
  • $2 million with AKTOR Corp. to repair various state building roofs in Albany.
Department of Health
  • $8 million for lead poisoning prevention grants to 34 counties, including $1.2 million to Onondaga County, $712,000 to Albany County and $438,000 to Dutchess County.
Office of Temporary and Disability Services
  • $33.9 million for 67 supportive housing grants including $3.7 million to Praxis Housing Initiatives Inc., $934,000 to the Polish Community Center of Buffalo and $702,000 to the Actors Fund of America.
  • $3.9 million with Bank of America for banking and debit card services for child support collection.
  • $2.9 million with Human Touch Translations LTD for language services.

Major Payments Approved

Tax Refunds
  • $255.3 million for 167,000 personal income tax refunds.
  • $186.3 million for 42,000 corporate and other refunds.
  • $2.7 million for 8,000 property tax freeze credits.
Department of Agriculture and Markets
  • $1.7 million to the American Dairy Association to promote NY milk and milk products.
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
  • $821,000 to OPAD Media Solutions LLC for the Prescription Drug Abuse Campaign.
  • $378,000 to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for Superstorm Sandy Social Services Block Grant. 
Education Department
  • $677,000 to Thirteen WNET New York for educational television.
  • $498,000 to Metritech Inc. for the NYS English as a second language achievement test program.
Empire State Development Corporation 
  • $154 million to Fort Schuyler Management Corporation for real estate acquisition, planning and design, construction, machinery and equipment at the Riverbend/SolarCity facility in Buffalo.
Gaming Commission
  • $20.2 million to 17 local governments for Rivers Casino & Resort license fee distributions.
Office of General Services
  • $20.3 million for hourly-based IT services, including $4.8 million to PSI International Inc., $3.8 million to IIT Inc., and $3 million to Knowledge Builders Inc.
  • $11.9 million to The Wesson Group LLC to expand Midway and RV Sites at the NYS Fairgrounds.
  • $4 million to the Albany Convention Center Authority for the Albany Capital Center Project.
  • $381,000 to CHA Consulting Inc. for environmental engineering and consulting services. 
Department of Health
  • $86.7 million to O’Connell & Aronowitz PC and $75.3 million to Hinman Straub PC for Medicaid rate appeal settlement agreements and reimbursement litigation with residential health care facilities. 
  • $18.2 million to Maximus Inc. and $1.6 million to Computer Sciences Corporation for assistance with the state’s Health Benefit Exchange.
  • $2 million to OPAD Media Solutions LLC for media related to colorectal cancer screening.
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
  • $3.2 million to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to fund the Urban Area Security Initiative.
Department of Labor
  • $43,000 to The Solar Energy Consortium for services of the SUNY Manufacturing Alliance for Research and Technology Transfer (SMARTT) Labs.
New York State Legislature – Assembly
  • $16,000 to Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux LLP for outside counsel for independent investigations of sexual harassment.
  • $4,600 to Zuckerman Spaeder LLP to represent the NYS Assembly in the investigation of Assemblyman Sheldon Silver.
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
  • $266,000 to Mr. Dirt Inc. for black diamond trail work from Taughannock Falls to Cass Park in Ithaca.
  • $156,000 to CHA Consulting Inc. for engineering services for various State Park regions.
  • $140,000 to Light House Designs Inc. to remove and replace golf cart roads at Bethpage State Park in Nassau County.
State University Construction Fund
  • $347,000 to LP Ciminelli Inc. to renovate Buffalo State University’s Science building. 
New York State Thruway Authority
  • $49.2 million to Tappan Zee Constructors LLC for the Tappan Zee Bridge Project.
Department of Transportation
  • $13 million to Skanska-Kiewit-Ecco III JV to replace the Kosciuszko Bridge linking Kings and Queens Counties.
  • $1.6 million to Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc. for design services for the Kosciuszko Bridge replacement project in Kings and Queens Counties.
  • $1.1 million to The Pike Co. to renovate the bridge at Brown’s Raceway and Genesee River in the city of Rochester.
  • $324,000 to CHA Consulting Inc. for services, including $188,000 for high-speed rail design.

Payment Rejections and Other Cost Recoveries

The Comptroller’s rejection of nearly 1,000 payments valued at more than $8.2 million included nearly 600 tax refunds valued at nearly $1.3 million. DiNapoli’s auditors also recovered more than $63,000 from vendors owing debts to the state, and held payments of nearly $4.5 million pending resolution of disputes between subcontractors and prime contractors.

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 to promote transparency in government and provide taxpayers with better access to financial data.