NEWYORK: Comptroller Mark Levine issued a new report examining the effectiveness and transparency of “Master Agreements” deployed over the last four years to swiftly purchase goods and services.
Agencies employ “Master Agreements” when there is an anticipated need in the future, but don’t yet know how much or how often they’ll need to make purchases.
The findings illustrate a greater need to reform New York City’s “Master Agreements,” which have been found to often stretch past their estimated values.
“New Yorkers must be able to trust that government is on their side, wisely spending tax dollars and delivering services quickly and effectively. The City’s ability to make vital purchases faster should not come at the cost of transparency for how taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine.
“Without a clear record of what the City is buying, waste flourishes. We are hard at work to restore New Yorkers trust in government while fighting to have a clear, accurate accounting of our spending at a moment of budget strain.”
“Master Agreements” allow agencies to have an “on-call” relationship with awarded vendors under pre-arranged contractual terms, allowing them to speed up what is otherwise a lengthy procurement process.
Once “Master Agreements” are established, actual purchases are made via Delivery Orders, but the systems tracking those records often lack key details such as the quantity of units purchased.
The Comptroller’s Office offered four key recommendations to balance transparency with the nimbleness required for Master Agreement transactions including develop a centralized system for managing all ‘Master Agreement’ purchases, combined effort on Data Transparency, better estimations for ‘Master Agreement’ needs and identify cost savings opportunities.
