(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Are they overpaid or is it worth the risk? New Yorkers may soon grapple with these questions following a Tuesday audit revealing that security guards at shelters for illegal immigrants are earning a generous hourly rate of $117.00.
This amount is more than four times the average rate and is granted under no-bid contracts, as disclosed by the Office of the New York City Comptroller in a comprehensive audit.
The report addressed what seemed to be rushed agreements between Mayor Eric Adams and city contractors, the New York Post reported, citing the audit.
“The city’s haphazard approach to entering these contracts – and their subsequent failure to compare or control prices across them – underscores the pitfalls of inadequate management of emergency procurement,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said of the audit.
We compared the City’s top 4 emergency contracts for staffing asylum seeker facilities, like welcome centers and HERRCs.
There were drastic discrepancies in pricing.
In one comparison, compensation ranged from $58 to $201 for the same service.
Report:https://t.co/TEEFSg9Dol
— Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (@NYCComptroller) February 27, 2024
Lander accused the city government of unnecessarily spending “millions of dollars.” He emphasized, “Rather than evicting people from shelter in the middle of winter, the City should insist on getting the most competitive prices from its own contractors in order to keep costs down.”
According to the Post, the city’s payment range for security guards varied from $50 to $117, nearly double the $27.58 average wage. Notably, the city disbursed $117, $90 and $50 to contracting firms Garner, SLCO and DocGo, respectively.
The audit also criticized the disparity in wages among other positions. For instance, case managers employed by SLSCO receive over 237% more than those at Essey Group LLC, even though both staff provide identical services, the audit decried.
Strikingly, SLSCO billed the city $201.06 per hour for off-site managers, a figure double what Garner, another contracting firm, invoiced the city. The $201.06 sum is four times higher than the billing from DocGo, a separate contractor.
The audit disturbingly revealed that Adams could have saved approximately $50 million “if certain staffing had been provided by hiring city employees rather than through the emergency contract.”
The surge in undocumented immigrants prompted Adams to hastily secure no-bid contracts with these companies, as he seeks financial assistance from the federal government.
“We need to get support from the state and federal partners, but we’re not sitting on the sideline,” Adams declared on Monday, addressing the city’s fiscal reserves. “We know we have the obligations and responsibility to navigate the city through the fiscal crisis and through the migrant and asylum seeker crisis.”
Read the full report here.
