Our 09/25/17 Testimony to MTA Board on Gateway Towers, ABO Complaint

Testimony​ ​of​ ​Liz​ ​Marcello,​ ​Reinvent​ ​Albany To​ ​Bridges​ ​and​ ​Tunnels​ ​Committee​ ​of​ ​the​ ​MTA

Regarding​ ​Gateway​ ​Towers,​ ​Budgeting​ ​and​ ​Procurement

September​ ​25,​ ​2017

Good​ ​afternoon,​ ​I​ ​am​ ​Liz​ ​Marcello,​ ​Campaign​ ​Director​ ​of​ ​Reinvent Albany.​ ​We​ ​advocate​ ​for​ ​more​ ​transparent​ ​and​ ​accountable​ ​state government​ ​—​ ​including​ ​for​ ​state​ ​authorities​ ​like​ ​the​ ​MTA.

First,​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​thank​ ​you​ ​for​ ​your​ ​service.​ ​Reinvent​ ​Albany appreciates​ ​that​ ​you,​ ​the​ ​MTA​ ​board,​ ​are​ ​volunteers​ ​and​ ​are​ ​given​ ​large amounts​ ​of​ ​complex​ ​policy​ ​and​ ​budget​ ​information​ ​to​ ​review​ ​on​ ​your​ ​own.

That​ ​said,​ ​this​ ​board​ ​has​ ​a​ ​fiduciary​ ​duty​ ​to​ ​the​ ​MTA​ ​and​ ​people​ ​of New​ ​York​ ​to​ ​fully​ ​examine​ ​and​ ​understand​ ​the​ ​matters​ ​before​ ​it,​ ​and​ ​to​ ​be fully​ ​informed​ ​before​ ​approving​ ​contracts​ ​and​ ​spending.​ ​Being​ ​fully informed​ ​means​ ​that​ ​the​ ​MTA​ ​board​ ​should​ ​know​ ​the​ ​total​ ​cost​ ​of​ ​projects and​ ​establish​ ​project​ ​budgets.

Does​ ​it?​ ​To​ ​date,​ ​this​ ​committee​ ​has​ ​approved​ ​$47​ ​million​ ​of spending​ ​for​ ​tasks​ ​related​ ​to​ ​building​ ​and​ ​installing​ ​decorative​ ​Gateway Towers​ ​at​ ​entrances​ ​to​ ​bridges​ ​and​ ​tunnels.​ ​However,​ ​Gateway​ ​Towers​ ​do not​ ​exist​ ​as​ ​a​ ​single​ ​Project​ ​and​ ​do​ ​not​ ​have​ ​a​ ​single​ ​or​ ​individual​ ​budgets. Further,​ ​in​ ​June​ ​board​ ​materials,​ ​Gateway​ ​Towers​ ​Tasks​ ​were​ ​budgeted​ ​at $20​ ​million​ ​and​ ​in​ ​September​ ​$47​ ​million.

​​How​ ​much​ ​will​ ​these​ ​Towers​ ​ultimately​ ​cost​ ​the​ ​people​ ​of​ ​New​ ​York? $75​ ​million,​ ​$100​ ​million?​ ​Does​ ​this​ ​Committee​ ​know?

Earlier​ ​this​ ​month,​ ​Reinvent​ ​Albany​ ​filed​ ​a​ ​complaint​ ​with​ ​the Authorities​ ​Budget​ ​Office​ ​asking​ ​ABO​ ​to​ ​determine​ ​whether​ ​the​ ​board​ ​of the​ ​MTA​ ​have​ ​fulfilled​ ​their​ ​fiduciary​ ​duty​ ​in​ ​matters​ ​related​ ​to​ ​the​ ​NY Crossings​ ​initiative.

We​ ​asked​ ​whether​ ​the​ ​board​ ​​fully​ ​examined​ ​and​ ​understood​ ​what​ ​it was​ ​funding​ ​before​ ​approving​ ​contract​ ​amendments​ ​​for​ ​Gateway​ ​Towers, and​ ​questioned​ ​how​ ​the​ ​board​ ​can​ ​approve​ ​large​ ​expenditures​ ​without having​ ​a​ ​total,​ ​final​ ​budget​ ​target.

​​Additionally,​ ​we​ ​asked​ ​ABO​ ​to​ ​investigate​ ​whether​ ​the​ ​MTA​ ​board and​ ​staff​ ​approved​ ​contracts​ ​related​ ​to​ ​NY​ ​Crossings​ ​in​ ​a​ ​manner​ ​that​ ​is consistent​ ​with​ ​the​ ​MTA’s​ ​procurement​ ​rules.​ ​​​Specifically,​ ​did​ ​the​ ​board and​ ​staff​ ​follow​ ​Article​ ​III​ ​part​ ​B5​ ​of​ ​the​ ​rules,​ ​which​ ​requires​ ​a​ ​resolution by​ ​the​ ​Board​ ​when​ ​a​ ​Rider​ ​is​ ​made​ ​to​ ​an​ ​existing​ ​General​ ​Contract,​ ​and​ ​a determination​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Board​ ​that​ ​includes​ ​the​ ​reasons​ ​why​ ​it​ ​is​ ​in​ ​the​ ​public interest​ ​to​ ​amend​ ​an​ ​existing​ ​contract​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​securing​ ​a​ ​service​ ​or product​ ​through​ ​a​ ​competitive​ ​process.

Lastly,​ ​we​ ​asked​ ​ABO​ ​to​ ​look​ ​at​ ​MTA’s​ ​dubious​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​describing generations​ ​of​ ​contract​ ​amendments​ ​as​ ​“competitively”​ ​awarded.​ ​Our complaint​ ​uses​ ​the​ ​tens​ ​of​ ​millions​ ​in​ ​Gateway​ ​Towers​ ​expenses​ ​as examples​ ​of​ ​Tasks​ ​that​ ​have​ ​nothing​ ​to​ ​do​ ​with​ ​the​ ​original​ ​contract requirements.

We​ ​filed​ ​this​ ​complaint​ ​because​ ​we​ ​believe​ ​there​ ​is​ ​something fundamentally​ ​wrong​ ​with​ ​how​ ​this​ ​board​ ​approves​ ​contracts​ ​and expenditures.​ ​You​ ​vote​ ​to​ ​approve​ ​contracts​ ​without​ ​setting​ ​a​ ​budget​ ​for​ ​NY Crossings​ ​or​ ​its​ ​component​ ​costs,​ ​including​ ​the​ ​decorative​ ​Gateway​ ​Towers, which​ ​have​ ​already​ ​cost​ ​$47​ ​million,​ ​yet​ ​have​ ​no​ ​cap.

Thank​ ​you.