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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 Jan. 2016

February 25, 2016

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office approved 1,436 contracts valued at $4.53 billion and approved 1.9 million payments worth $10.2 billion in January. His office also rejected 170 contracts and related transactions valued at $2.64 billion and 4,200 payments valued at $2.7 million due to fraud, waste or other improprieties.

As the state’s chief financial officer, DiNapoli’s office reviews contracts for all state agencies and certain contracts for 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 January 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.

Major Contracts Approved

Department of Agriculture and Markets
  • $5 million to Steuben County Soil and Water Conservation District and $1.5 million to Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District for the Agricultural Industry Enhancement program.
Department of Criminal Justice Services
  • $60 million with Morpho Trust USA Inc. to collect, identify and process fingerprints.
State Education Department
  • $26.2 million for 27 Independent Living Center grants statewide.
Department of Environmental Conservation
  • $1.6 million for five Water Quality Management and Improvement grants, including $1.2 million to the town of Brookhaven.
Department of Health
  • $5.7 million to Erie County for a Childhood Lead Poisoning grant.
  • $2.7 million for eight spinal cord injury research grants, including $337,000 to Cornell University.
  • $2 million for six spinal cord injury institutional grants, including $337,000 to Syracuse University.
  • $2 million for Drinking Water Enhancement Program grants.
Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
  • $3.4 million to the Open Space Institute Land Trust Inc. for the purchase of Goosepond Mountain land in Orange County.
Department of Transportation
  • $42.7 million with DA Collins Construction Co. to rehabilitate the South Mall arterial bridges in Albany and replace the Route 32 bridge between Albany and Saratoga counties.
  • $18 million with Intercounty Paving Associates LLC for asphalt work in the NYC region.

Major Payments Approved

Tax Refunds
  • $217.1 million for approximately 25,000 personal income tax refunds.
  • $355.3 million for 15,000 corporate and other refunds.
  • $159.6 million for 777,000 property tax freeze credits.
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
  • $336,000 to the New York Council on Problem Gambling for gambling awareness and education.
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
  • $1 million to the Center for Employment Opportunities for the Neighborhood Work Project which employs people returning from prison or under community supervision.
  • $152,000 to Law Enforcement Psychological Services Inc. for psychological screenings for Correctional Officer applicants.
Division of Criminal Justice Services
  • $4.2 million to New York City for the Crimes against Revenue Program which provides grants to district attorneys to investigate tax cheats, Medicaid and other fraud.
Department of Economic Development
  • $2.1 million to the SUNY Research Foundation for the Institute of Nanoelectronics Discovery and Exploration Center at the University at Albany.
Empire State Development Corporation
  • $10 million to Fort Schuyler Management Corporation for the Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub.
  • $2.9 million to Fuller Road Management Co. to implement research and development programs for the Institute of Nanoelectronics Discovery and Exploration Center at the University of Albany.
Department of Environmental Conservation
  • $4 million to the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York for program management services for New York Works dam and flood control projects.
Gaming Commission
  • $11.3 million to 24 counties and cities for tribal compact payments.
  • $9.3 million to McCann Erickson USA Inc. for media planning and buying services for traditional lottery products such as Mega Millions, Power Ball and scratch-off tickets.
  • $216,000 to Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP for casino selection advisory services.
Office of General Services
  • $15.1 million for hourly-based IT services, including $4.1 million to PSI International Inc., $1.8 million to Software People Inc., and $1.6 million to IIT Inc.
Department of Health
  • $30.5 million to Maximus Inc. and $4.7 million to Computer Sciences Corporation to assist with the state’s Health Benefit exchange.
  • $13.6 million to Xerox State Healthcare LLC for Medicaid administrative and fiscal agent services.
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
  • $4.1 million to Adjusters International Inc. for disaster relief services.
New York State Legislature – Assembly
  • $32,000 to Roemer Wallens, Gold & Mineaux LLP for outside counsel for independent investigations of sexual harassment.
  • $11,000 to Zuckerman Spaeder LLP to represent the Assembly in the investigation of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
New York State Legislature – Senate
  • $9,000 to Kirkland & Ellis LLP for legal services and special counsel services related to the Moreland Commission.
State University Construction Fund
  • $10.9 million to EW Howell Co. Inc. for construction of a medical and research building at the Stony Brook University Children’s Hospital.
  • $2.1 million to Tutor Perini Corporation for construction of a new academic building for the School of Public Health at Downstate Medical Center.
  • $1.7 million to Northland Associates Inc. for an addition and renovations to the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia.
New York State Thruway Authority
  • $95 million to Tappan Zee Constructors LLC for the Tappan Zee Bridge Project.
  • $1.6 million to HNTB New York Engineering & Architecture PC for Tappan Zee Bridge engineering services.
Department of Transportation
  • $37.1 million to Skanska-Kiewit-Ecco III JV to replace the Kosciuszko Bridge over Newtown Creek in New York City.

Payment Rejections and Other Cost Recoveries

The Comptroller’s rejection of $2.7 million in payments included 40 tax refunds valued at $69,000. DiNapoli’s auditors also recovered nearly $62,000 from vendors owing debts to the state, and held payments of more than $814,000 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.