John Liu, Comptroller, Slams Consumer Affairs Tech Contract, Demands Investigation
City Comptroller John Liu is claiming that the city's Consumer Affairs Department stonewalled his attempts to audit a technology contract, and wants investigators to look into it. A DCA spokeswoman called Liu's broadside an "irresponsible misrepresentation." 
Liu refered the circumstances surrounding an audit of the agency's contract with Gartner Inc. to the city Department of Investigation, his office said, because his auditors "encountered unprecedented interference" from DCA officials. The Gartner contract was originally for $2.7 million over two years, but the contract ballooned, Liu says, to $11.5 million, and the project still isn't done after more than five years.
Liu says his office discovered timesheets created after auditors asked for them and unsigned timesheets. DCA misled the Comptroller about the number of $200 to $300-an-hour consultants on the contract. DCA also delayed providing documents to the auditors for two months, he alleged.
A DCA spokeswoman, in a statement, said Liu "ignores the fact that the Department made each requested witness and every one of the thousands of documents fully available. We believe that DOI's review will show that the project has been properly managed and that the new Accela system will make doing business much easier for tens of thousands of New York businesses."
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