Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's Weekly News

News From State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

DiNapoli: Municipalities Should Ensure Background Checks For Youth Program Workers

Local governments could do more to conduct background checks on individuals working in municipal youth program services, according to an audit released Friday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

DiNapoli Approves Terms of $3.14 Billion Tappan Zee Bridge Contract

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli last Friday announced he has approved a $3.14 billion contract between the state Thruway Authority and Tappan Zee Constructors to design and build the new Tappan Zee bridge.

Officers of Albany Nanotech Complex Safeguarding Public Funds

Fuller Road Management Corp., the not for profit corporation that runs the State University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, is fulfilling its duties to support and provide appropriate internal controls over operations and activities, and promoted an ethical business climate at the multi–billion dollar facility, according to a report released Friday by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

DiNapoli: State Tax Revenues Up, But Still Lag Projections

Tax collections through December totaling $46.4 billion were $48.3 million below the state’s latest estimates and $685.3 million below initial estimates in April. Higher than anticipated personal income tax collections in December likely reflect income paid before federal tax increases take effect in 2013 for high income taxpayers, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said last week in releasing the December cash report.

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Thursday announced his office completed audits of:
the City of Beacon; the Midway Fire District; the Niagara Falls Housing Authority; the Orleans County; the Town of Otto; and, the Village of Spring Valley.

Also in the news this week

Comptroller urges town of Manlius to conduct background checks on youth program workers

New York pays a record $520 million in overtime, as 5 highest earners each rake in an extra $100K

Bedford Hills prison nurse state's top overtime earner: $150k

Click Here for more of DiNapoli's online news articles.

National Study Shows Government's Unfair Business Practices Hurt New York State Charities

Albany, N.Y. – October 6^th, 2010 – The Urban Institute will be releasing a ground breaking national study this morning regarding government contracting and payment practices with human service nonprofits. The report, Human Service Nonprofits and Government Collaboration: Findings from the 2010 National Survey of Nonprofit Government Contracts and Grants, provides essential national and New York State data on contracting practices.

The study is based on survey data for 2009. It ranks late government payments to nonprofits in New York State as being the 9^th worst in the country. Payments were commonly late 90 days or more despite the fact that New York is the only state in the country with a “Prompt Contracting” law designed to protect nonprofits from late contracts and payments. This finding reinforces data produced by the State Comptroller that shows that 90% of all state payments are late. The study also revealed that the processes of applying for and reporting on state contracts is seen as problematically complex and time consuming by over 70% of the nonprofits.

Other rankings specific to New York State include:

· Ranked 11^th in the list of worst offenders with respect to
mid-term changes to contracts.

· Ranked 20^th in having contracts that do not cover the full cost of the services being performed. Related findings include that 47% of the nonprofits report contracts requiring them to share the cost of full service and over 60% reporting limitations on reimbursement for administrative or overhead expenses incurred.

"Our state’s nonprofits have, historically, been resilient when it comes to putting mission and people first, often absorbing the financial loses and risks associated with doing business with government,” states Doug Sauer, Chief Executive Officer of the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON). He further observes, “These are very difficult times for all. Community-based nonprofits are on the front lines of the crisis in human needs that people across the state are facing. Sadly, the inability of our government leaders to responsibly manage their budgets and be fair in their contractual commitments, are now pushing many charities to the financial breaking point. In essence, government appears to be expecting charitable donors, who are also taxpayers, to subsidize its cash flow. ”

The problem has worsened. A recent survey conducted by NYCON shows that the over 80% of nonprofits report that the contracting and payment problems with the State of New York have worsened in 2010 over 2009. To cope with the state´s business practices, over 60% of charities have reduced services or eliminated programs. Most have had to draw on their charitable reserves and/or borrow money.

To help strengthen the partnership between government and nonprofits NYCON, working closely with the Comptroller’s Office and other State agencies, launched an “Ombudsman Program” to help nonprofits navigate the New York State contracting and payments process as well as, over time, improve the efficiency and timeliness of the State’s processing of nonprofit business.

“Not-for-profits are struggling to provide crucial services to New York families,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. "When state agencies fail to approve contracts and make payments on deadline, they make the problem worse. Many not-for-profits already face significant challenges, and when contracts are delayed and payments aren’t made, the situation gets even tougher."

"We need to fix this system,” stated Doug Sauer. “We call on all parties, including candidates for office, to commit to working together for responsible solutions.”

Complete study available now at www.nycon.org.

NYS Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act Takes Effect Feb 1

Although the Federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act has been in effect for several years, New York State has now enacted its own version of the employee protection notification scheme. The New York State version imposes more stringent requirements, bringing far more employers under the purview of this legislation that the Federal law. The effect is that where many non-profits would never have been affected by the Federal legislation, many will come under the auspices of the New York State version. Read more here about the WARN Act and its impact on your nonprofit.

This policy update is provided by Kevin M. Stadelmaier, Esq, Legal Advisor, New York Council of Nonprofits (fomerly CCSNYS, Inc.), Legal Accountability and Compliance Services, Western New York Regional Office. Should you have further questions or concerns relevant to the requirements of this New Act, do not hesitate to contact Kevin at (716) 241-5010 x170 or by email.

NYS Budget Impact on the Arts

NYS Arts, formerly The Alliance for New York State Arts Organizations, announced the following info about Governor Patterson's proposed budget cuts and their impact on the arts and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

The Governor's proposed cut for the arts in the current 2008-09 budget stands at $7 million. And the total cut to the 2009-10 arts budget is almost $10 million from the start of the 2008-09 fiscal year.

CURRENT ARTS BUDGET 2008-09

• The Governor's proposal remains unchanged. He proposes eliminating the NYSCA funds that have not yet been awarded from the OCTOBER and DECEMBER cycles totaling $7 million. This means that almost all of the almost 600 organizations in those two cycles will not receive any funding.....including those who have general operating support pending. The inequities are staggering! This proposed reduction is the second one in this current budget (don't forget there was almost approximately a 10% reduction a couple of months ago). It will bring the NYSCA budget down to $38.9 million from $48.5 million at the start of the current fiscal year.

2009-10 ARTS BUDGET

• The Governor's budget proposes a "$7 million dollar" cut to NYSCA in 2009-10, or $38.9 million for local assistance/grants to the field. HOWEVER, this is actually almost a $10 million cut or approximately a 20% reduction from the beginning of the current fiscal year when the budget was $48.5 million. This means that there will not be an additional cut to NYSCA if the Governor's second proposed cut is approved by the Legislature. NYSCA Operations budget is almost $5.5 million....down from $6.1 million at the beginning of the current fiscal year and down from $5.7 million after the mid-year cuts.

OTHER ARTS CHANGES IN THE 2009-10 BUDGET

• The Governor proposes merging the New York State Theatre Institute with the Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center ("The Egg"). Under the Executive Budget, the New York State Theatre Institute becomes a subsidiary of "The Egg", the Theatre Institute will continue to provide artistic and educational programming for children and families from its current facilities in Troy under the merger. State support for the new organization will be $3.65 million.

NY Policy Update

NY Policy News
Nonprofit mental health organizations’ boards must have trainingS08047 would have set training requirements for boards of not for profit organizations that deal with mental health issues. The bill also set disclosure requirements; however, it was vetoed by the Governor on September 28, 2008.