Confidence and trust in government appears to continue to erode because of political infighting, and the perception of waste, fraud, and limited transparency. This is why my office has taken small yet significant steps to attempt to restore some trust through transparency.
Recently the Comptroller’s Facebook page made available all 2013 Nassau County contracts with vendors as well as all the bills paid by the county. In keeping with my office’s prudent standards of controlling costs and promoting innovation, we used the latest social media tools to make this information available to the greatest number of residents. Not a single taxpayer dollar has been spent for this important public service.
Historically, access such as this, would require a Freedom of Information Law request. Placing these contracts online provides taxpayers with a snapshot of how their money is being spent, and hopefully, generate feedback from residents if inefficiencies and waste are observed.
Nassau spent over $700 million on contracts with hundreds of vendors in 2013 and processes over 50,000 payments to these vendors. Vendors provide a range of essential services and products for taxpayers, including road paving, traffic light maintenance, fraud investigations, social services and transportation for seniors, the needy and children with special challenges.
In the last four years, we reduced government costs by over $300 million by demanding value in contracts, insisting on competitive bidding and verifying that services were delivered as specified. The county is operating as you would expect an efficient business to operate. The Comptroller’s Facebook page is facebook.com/nccomptroller. Your participation and feedback is crucial in assisting me to keep costs down and uncover waste and fraud.
