New York State has rolled out Contracts by the Numbers, a new web page from the Office of the State Comptroller that features a dashboard with expanded procurement search tools provided in Open Book New York.
“Transparency is the hallmark of good government, and my office strives to provide the public with in-depth data to keep track of where their tax dollars are being spent,” State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.
“This tool will help the public, advocates, and researchers, as well as subcontractors, [Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises], and other entities looking to do business with the state readily access information about state contracts,” he said. “During Sunshine Week we emphasize the importance of open government, and I hope this initiative will help keep the public informed.”
The comptroller’s office explained that the new tool lets users perform more robust searches on state agency and public authority contracts, including identifying who has the biggest and most contracts with New York state. With the new tool, contracts can be searched and sorted by agency or authority, vendor, and contract type. This includes both contracts that are reviewed, and not reviewed, by DiNapoli’s office.
In addition to the search feature, the website also shows the average time it takes the office to review contracts, as well as the resulting cost savings the Comptroller’s oversight provides. DiNapoli’s office explained that the comptroller’s oversight extends to most state agency contracts – generally those where the contract value exceeds $50,000 and certain state public authority contracts valued at more than $1 million if they are either awarded noncompetitively or paid in whole or in part from state appropriations. The site also shows the average time it takes the office to review contracts, as well as the resulting cost savings the comptroller’s oversight provides.
