Audit Report on the Purchasing Practices of the Department of City Planning

The Department of City Planning (DCP), established under the 1936 New York City Charter, began functioning in 1938. The Director of City Planning heads DCP and serves as Chair of the City Planning Commission (Commission). The Director’s responsibilities include advising and assisting the Mayor, the Borough Presidents, and the City Council regarding all matters related to the development and improvement of the City, as well as assisting the Mayor in the preparation of strategic plans that have long-term implications for the City. DCP is the City’s primary agency instrumental in designing the City’s physical and socioeconomic framework and is the lead agency for most discretionary land use actions, such as amendments to the zoning map and zoning text. DCP’s mission is to plan for the future of New York City.

During Fiscal Year 2019, DCP’s Other Than Personal Services (OTPS) expenditures totaled $10,266,885, resulting from 1,490 transactions. DCP Procurement Analysts (PAs) are responsible for processing OTPS expenditures.  PAs receive requests by email from office managers to purchase goods and services, determine the classification and the funding source most appropriate for the expenditures, and prepare procurement documents for review and approval by the Agency Chief Contracting Officer (ACCO). DCP’s Fiscal Affairs division addresses inquiries regarding the funding source to be used. The OTPS transactions, including payments, are processed through the City’s Financial Management System (FMS). DCP also procures goods and services through the use of Procurement Cards (P-Cards).

Audit Findings and Conclusions

Overall, DCP’s financial controls over OTPS expenditures are functional but need improvement in certain areas. The audit found that DCP’s controls adequately ensured that agency staff complied with requirements of the agency’s internal procedures, the Comptroller’s Directives, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ Citywide Purchasing Card (P-Card) Policies and Guidelines relating to eight areas. However, the audit also found that DCP’s process for authorizing and reconciling purchases lacked adequate controls to ensure that agency staff consistently complied with the requirements relating to five other areas. Specifically, we found weaknesses with the way DCP processed 161 (76 percent) of the 212 transactions that we sampled, totaling $56,582.

These issues, if not resolved, may increase the risk of DCP making unnecessary or unauthorized payments for goods and/or services.

Audit Recommendations

To address the issues raised by this audit, we make five recommendations, including the following:

• DCP should ensure that its staff are familiar with and adhere to established policies and guidelines governing P-Card use and travel and conference expenditures and require staff to obtain and maintain written authorization prior to all P-Card purchases.
• DCP should consider implementing as part of its P-Card policy the use of a P-Card checklist to promote compliance with applicable policies and procedures, as DCAS generally encourages for all agencies in Section 2.2.4 of its Citywide P-Card Policies and Guidelines
• DCP should ensure that it consistently obtains and retains P-Card and PRM1 purchase receipts, invoices, and other backup documentation with all required information to reflect the dollar amounts and detailed descriptions of the purchases, and that all such supporting documentation is submitted and reviewed in a timely manner.

Agency Response

In its response, DCP stated that it agreed with the audit findings and recommendations.