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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 295-03
October 21, 2003

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG RELEASES REPORT OUTLINING CONTRACTING AND PROCUREMENT REFORM

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today released a report that recommends improvements to the City’s $9.1 billon procurement system. The report outlines how procurement reform can save the City $60 million a year, speed up a historically cumbersome and inefficient process and maintain vendor integrity.  Over the past 18 months, the Administration has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda, using all available tools ranging including: legislation, administrative rule changes, charter referendum, management and technology initiatives. 

“Procurement reform is crucial to the exercise of good government in New York City,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “Even with the deep reforms that are included in the Charter revision package pending before the voters of New York City, much remains to be done to overhaul our procurement process and bring it into the 21st century.  Thus, this report represents a down payment toward the eventual achievement of our long-range goals.”

The administration’s procurement improvement program has targeted seven areas for reforms:

  • Management Reforms – Much of what needs to be done requires no change in law whatsoever, simply smarter, hands-on management. Among the accomplishments to date are: consolidating duplicative procurement policy and technical oversight functions; eliminating unnecessary oversight approvals (thereby reducing processing time for 65% of our procurements); increasing the availability of streamlined methods for smaller scale purchases; expanding access for minority and women-owned business and other locally-based and small enterprises; and fostering inter-agency cooperation and communication. 
  • Innovative Purchasing Opportunities – We have identified procurement savings opportunities in a number of key areas, including contracts that allow multiple agencies to purchase together; services contracts that award city work to “pools” of vendors who then compete to provide the best price for each specific task; increased “piggy-back” use of state and federal contracts; and public-private partnership contracts. 
  • Targeted Technology Investment – The major goal in this area is the development of an integrated end-to-end automated workflow system to track all of our procurements and keep them moving on a timely basis.  Additional technology initiatives underway include expanded use of the City Record On-Line to make contract solicitation documents available to vendors on-line.
  • Accountability for Performance – We have developed detailed performance indicators, both for purchasing agencies and the oversight agencies, to ensure procurement efficiency and identify potential bottlenecks, and are using these indicators as one of the bases for determining the level of procurement autonomy that is appropriate for each agency. 
  • Ensuring Vendor Responsibility – We have increased the technical assistance and training support resources available to agencies as they conduct their reviews of vendor responsibility, but we are also providing new opportunities for vendors to affirmatively address past problems in such areas as integrity, financial capability and contract performance.
  • Charter Revision – The reforms proposed by the Charter Revision Commission include measures to increase the flexibility of the procurement process, while ensuring its appropriate oversight and reduce burdensome processes fro vendors.
  • Legislative Reforms – In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg signed two procurement reform measures passed by the City Council, to streamline the public hearing process and increase the dollar thresholds for small purchases.  Current legislative initiatives proposed by the Administration include measures to facilitate greater use of state and federal contracts, raise the thresholds for Mayoral approval (allowing greater authority to agencies), improve the administration of procurements using prequalified vendor lists, and further streamline the public hearing process and increase the thresholds for small purchases.






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Ed Skyler / Jordan Barowitz   (212) 788-2958




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