Chapter 13 of the Charter establishes many of the
rules by which the City may purchase (or procure)
goods and services. The proposal would make changes
to Chapter 13 and to several related sections.
Administrative flexibility - Currently, the
Charter contains provisions governing a variety of
purchasing methods. The proposal would delete a
number of these provisions and would require the
Procurement Policy Board ("PPB") to issue rules on
most of the deleted topics. In addition, the
proposal would authorize the PPB to issue rules for
all alternative purchasing methods.
Currently, the Charter generally requires that
purchases of goods be made by the Department of
Citywide Administrative Services ("DCAS"). This
proposal would allow the commissioner of DCAS to
delegate a specific purchase of a specific good to
another agency, for direct purchase by that agency,
provided that the DCAS commissioner could not make
this delegation for goods to be generally used by
City agencies.
Currently, the Charter authorizes the Mayor to
designate DCAS to perform specified administrative
functions for certain specified City agencies. This
proposal would permit the Mayor to designate
additional agencies for which DCAS could perform
procurement services.
Currently, the Charter requires proposed
contractors and subcontractors for contracts above a
certain monetary value to submit reports on
workplace employment issues. This proposal would
eliminate Charter provisions governing the content
and review of these employment reports, and would
require the commissioner of the Department of Small
Business Services ("DSBS") to issue rules on these
topics.
Qualifications for City purchasing officials -
Currently, the Charter contains no provisions
governing the training or qualifications of City
purchasing officials. This proposal would require
the PPB to issue rules setting forth training and
professional standards for these purchasing
officers, taking into account the volume and
complexity of agency contracting activities.
Small businesses and minority and women-owned
businesses - Currently, the Charter requires the
Department of Small Business Services ("DSBS") to
take steps relating to the promotion of equal
opportunities for minority and women-owned
businesses. This proposal would require citywide
agency coordination by the Mayor to enhance
opportunities for vendors.
Security-related contracts - Currently, the
Charter generally requires public notice and hearing
of contracts for the purchase of goods and services.
This proposal would provide an exception to this
requirement where the Mayor determines that the
notice or hearing would disclose sensitive
information that, if made public, could be
detrimental to the security of the City or its
citizens.
Timeliness of contracting and payment -
Currently, the Charter requires that the PPB issue
rules for the prompt payment of vouchers, including
rules for the payment of interest to vendors whose
vouchers are not paid on time. This requirement
would be modified to require uniform interest for
all vendors. In addition, this proposal would
require the PPB to issue rules: mandating timetables
for the completion of purchasing steps and remedies
for failure to meet such timetables; providing for
expedited renewal or extension of existing human
services contracts in certain circumstances; and
requiring the development of annual contract plans
by the City’s human services agencies. This proposal
would also establish an annual mayoral procurement
report, which would include not only procurement
activity indicators (as currently required to be
included in the Mayor’s management report) but also
indicators on agency performance relative to the
timeliness of agencies’ procurement actions.
Financial audits - Currently, the Charter does
not provide for financial audits of vendors by
agencies. This proposal would require the PPB to
issue rules governing City agency requirements for
annual financial audits of vendors, including rules
providing for consolidated audits across multiple
contracts held by vendors with one or multiple
agencies.
VENDEX - Currently, the Charter does not contain
any provisions regarding VENDEX, the City’s
computerized vendor integrity data system, which was
created pursuant to the City’s Administrative Code.
This proposal would require the Mayor and
Comptroller to jointly issue rules necessary to
maintain the VENDEX system. The proposal would not
limit the power of the Council to legislate with
respect to the VENDEX system.
Effective Date - The proposal would generally
take effect immediately after approval by the
voters. However, the employment report and VENDEX
provisions would take effect nine months after such
approval.
