State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office approved 1,462 contracts valued at $1.72 billion and approved more than 1.7 million payments worth nearly $6.3 billion in July.  His office also rejected 167 contracts and related transactions valued at $370 million and 1,183 payments valued at more than $5.1 million due to fraud, waste or other improprieties.

Cumulatively through July for calendar year 2016, DiNapoli’s office has approved 11,364 contracts valued at $33.1 billion and approved more than 20.2 million payments worth more than $81.1 billion. His office has also rejected 1,342 contracts and related transactions valued at $7.88 billion and nearly 31,000 payments valued at more than $62.1 million.

As the state’s chief financial officer, DiNapoli’s office reviews contracts for all state agencies and certain 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 eleven days for contract reviews in July and two days to audit payments.

DiNapoli releases this monthly notice to provide current information about state contracts and payments, and builds on his commitment to transparency via his Open Book New York website.

Highlights for July 2016:

Major Contracts Approved

Department of Agriculture and Markets

• $2 million with Live Nation Worldwide to provide entertainment booking and related services at the 2016 State Fair in Syracuse.Council on the Arts
• $3.9 million for 25 grants, including $768,000 to Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, $317,000 to Brooklyn Arts Council, $288,000 to Saratoga County Arts Council and $258,000 to New York Council of Nonprofits Inc.

Office of the State Comptroller

• $4.9 million with Garnet River LLC for Java programming services.

Department of Environmental Conservation

• $65.5 million for 17 Oil Spill Fund critical response containment and cleanup contracts, including $15 million with Op-Tech Environmental Services Inc., $8 million with Eggan Excavating and Equipment Co. Inc., and $7.5 million each with Action Technical Services Inc., National Vacuum Environmental Services Corp. and Finger Lakes Envirotech LLC.
• $12.6 million grant to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission.
• $4.3 million with Environmental Service Group for remediation at the Al-Tech Specialty Steel site in Dunkirk, Chautauqua County.

Gaming Commission

• $2.6 million with Armand Resource Group Inc. for casino regulatory compliance consulting services.

Department of Health

• $74.8 million with Medical Answering Services LLC for Medicaid transportation management.

Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE)

• $300,000 with Winston & Strawn LLP for litigation counsel to defend JCOPE in legal action related to regulatory changes.

Major Payments Approved

Tax Refunds

• $180.7 million for 99,000 personal income tax refunds.
• $89 million for 17,000 corporate and other refunds.
• $70,000 for 600 property tax freeze credits.

Department of Agriculture and Markets

• $154,000 to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to administer the animal population control program.

Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services

• $589,000 to Horizon Village Inc. for chemical dependency services.
• $167,000 to OPAD Media Solutions LLC for the Prescription Drug Abuse Campaign.

Empire State Development Corporation

• $33.5 million to Fuller Road Management Corporation for facility and infrastructure build-out, purchase and installation of equipment and material at SUNY Polytechnic’s Nanotech complex in Albany.
• $2.1 million to Buffalo Bills, Inc. for capital improvements at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
• $1.8 million to Genesee County Industrial Development Agency for land acquisition and infrastructure development for the Western New York Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP).
• $181,000 to Buffalo Urban Development Corporation for acquisition of vacant and underutilized properties, planning, environmental investigation, and site review of properties.

Department of Environmental Conservation

• $377,000 to Carbone Automotive Group for eleven 2016 Dodge Ram 1500 special service vehicles.
• $54,000 to Trout Unlimited Inc. for water quality management.

Department of Economic Development

• $755,000 to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the Smart Lighting Systems Engineering Research Center.

Gaming Commission

• $12.2 million to 26 local governments for tribal compact payments.

Office of Children and Family Services

• $265,000 to the Early Care & Learning Council to assist the NYS Child Care Resource and Referral agencies for quality assurance services.
• $155,000 to Harlem Children’s Zone Inc. to provide after-school and summer programs to children in Superstorm Sandy affected areas. 

Office of General Services

• $10.5 million for hourly-based IT services, including $2.5 million to PSI International Inc., $1.6 million to MVP Consulting Plus Inc., and $1.6 million to Knowledge Builders Inc.
• $3.6 million to the Albany Convention Center Authority for the Albany Capital Center.
• $1.2 million to The Wesson Group LLC to expand Midway and RV Sites at the State Fair in Syracuse.
• $603,000 to Welliver McGuire Inc. to rehabilitate the front entrance at the State Fair in Syracuse.

Department of Health

• $14.9 million to Maximus Inc. to assist with the NYS Health Benefit Exchange.

Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

• $3.3 million to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the Urban Area Security Initiative program.

New York State Legislature – Assembly

• $54,000 to Rossein Associates and $31,000 to Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux LLP for outside counsel for independent investigations of sexual harassment.

New York State Legislature – Senate

• $9,000 to Kraus & Zuchlewski LLP for legal services related to a personnel matter.

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

• $1.1 million to MPCC Corp. for a demolition project at Nissequogue River State Park in Kings Park.
• $375,000 to Norberto Construction Inc. for swimming pool modernization and construction at Rockland State Park.

State University Construction Fund

• $24 million to LP Ciminelli Inc. for construction at the University of Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
• $235,000 to LeChase Construction Services LLC to renovate SUNY Binghamton Lecture Halls.

Department of Transportation

• $14 million to Skanska-Kiewit-Ecco III JV to replace the Kosciuszko Bridge in NYC.
• $766,000 to The Pike Co. for bridge renovation in the City of Rochester.
• $439,000 to CHA Consulting Inc. for high-speed rail design and other consulting services

Payment Rejections and Other Cost Recoveries

The Comptroller’s rejection of 1,183 payments valued at more than $5.1 million included 400 tax refunds valued at nearly $2.2 million. DiNapoli’s auditors also recovered nearly $16,000 from vendors owing debts to the state, and held payments of more than $195,000 pending resolution of disputes between subcontractors and prime contractors.

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 to promote transparency in government and provide taxpayers with better access to financial data.