Mayor-elect Eric Adams on Tuesday focused on compliance and risk management—two elements of the comptroller’s office that he will be bringing into City Hall.
Adams and his new chief counsel, Brendan McGuire, announced Marjorie Landa as the head of the new Mayor’s Office of Risk Management and Compliance. They also announced Lisa Flores as director of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS).
“Instead of waiting for the problems to happen. We bring in the comptroller right inside our city hall so we can do a better job,” Adams said during his remarks at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Flores currently works as the deputy comptroller for contracts and procurement, so her insight from that position will likely be at the center contract services in City Hall. Currently, she serves under Scott Stringer, who will be replaced by Brad Lander in January.
In her current position, Adams said, Flores “oversees the review of all contracts, amendment amendments, leases and concessions between city agencies and vendors.”
As head of MOCS, Flores will oversee the contract process for all city agencies, making sure that procurement, and especially payment, goes smoothly. Adams mentioned his partnership with Lander, the new comptroller, on the task force specifically for nonprofit contracts. Referred to as A Better Contract for New York, the task force will now include Flores as well.
“We heard this over and over on the campaign trail, it is taking too long to pay nonprofits, and many of them are providing the services to fill the gaps, but it is too cumbersome, too difficult and is taking too long to make it happen. And we want to change that,” Adams said.
Landa, the deputy comptroller for audit and investigations, will add the new element of risk management to Adams’ team. “She will be responsible for reducing the risk of fraud and waste, maximizing city revenues and improving the effectiveness of government operation,” Adams said.
The new Office of Risk Management and Compliance will do an immediate review of contracts in excess of $10 million, to make sure they are actually providing services, as well as including minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE).
“It is embarrassing to know in this city we only have 3.8% of all city contracts going to MWBE. That is a failure. It is unacceptable and we’re not going to continue it. And most importantly, we want to create a system of tracking in real-time,” Adams said.
Though the city already has a comptroller who is an independent office in charge of monitoring the city’s agencies, Adams plans to keep Landa and Flores in partnership with the comptroller rather than override that office’s job.
