(The Center Square) — New York City’s top bean counter is moving to block the city’s Education Department from unilaterally signing off on contracts with minority and women-owned businesses amid a federal probe and concerns about misuse of the privileges.
The move by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander effectively strips DOE of its ability to bypass his office’s review of contracts valued at less than $1.5 million for minority and female business owners when that allowance expires at the end of the year. Landers’s office will now vet those contracts.
“In delegating its registration authority, our office must feel confident that an agency has the capacity to comply with all procurement rules, laws and procedures to avoid the risks of corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse,” Lander wrote in a letter to the state agency. “As a result of the federal investigation and subpoena regarding DOE contracts, an ineffective use of the self-registration delegation, and reporting deficiencies we cannot renew the delegation at this time.”