n wasteful state contracting THE INVISIBLE WORKFORCE The average consultant costs NY almost $73 an hour.


Thatʼs 40% more than a comparable state employee costs (including benefits). $72.63 per hour


$51.72 per hour


Joint committee? Pressing the governor and state


commissioners to give the call for smarter spending more than just lip service, PEF demanded and got a commitment from the Cuomo administration in the 2011-15 PS&T Contract to convene a joint committee to discuss these issues. “We hope this joint committee will


agree on measures to reduce unnecessary use of consultants and save the taxpayers millions,” Brynien said in a May press release PEF issued to draw public attention to the issue.


Token compliance PEF bases its


comparisons on data submitted in state reports, many of which are required by state laws that were passed because of the union’s Go Public campaign that it has waged for years to bring transparency and reform to state spending practices.


www.pef.org


Compliance with those laws still


leaves much to be desired and reliance on the inadequate data that results can lead to more costly missteps. For instance, the state Division of


Budget underestimated the state’s spending on consultants in 2011-12 by at least $838 million and possibly as much as $2.7 billion. That’s because the DOB relied on state agencies’ estimates, rather than reports filed with the Office of the State Comptroller. State law requires contractors and


consultants to report how much they charge the state for individual professional services such as the engineers and computer programers they provide. However, the companies that supplied those consultants only provided that information for 15 percent of


consultant spending in 2010-11, leaving 85 percent of the costs hidden. PEF hopes the state’s new financial


management system will provide a better way to track its spending for consultant services.


Where’s the will? Ultimately, no amount of data,


analysis, press releases or even laws can stop this waste of tax dollars. “State leaders know they are wasting


this money and they know how to stop it,” Brynien said. “What’s missing is the will to actually do it.”


VIEW BOTH REPORTS AT:


www.pef.org/storage/files/reports _2012_consultantreport.pdf AND


www.pef.org/storage/files/20120515 masterconsultant.pdf


The Communicator June 2012—Page 5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24