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The MTA Double Paid Vendors $3 Million This Year
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 14, 2011
Modified Apr 14, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 14, 2011
Modified Apr 14, 2011
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A few years back the MTA announced a new, $170-$235 million, Business Service Center which they said would "consolidate back office functions from all MTA agencies, saving $30 million to 40 million annually and eliminating 259 positions when fully implemented." BSC started taking over some back-office functions in January and it has not been a smooth transition. Would you believe that the MTA this year managed to send out duplicate checks to vendors worth $3 million dollars?
And that isn't the only problem that BSC has faced. It has also had problems processing invoices for vendors and earlier this year it had some hiccups getting employees their worker's compensation checks on time. Sigh.
Luckily, the BSC's overpaying isn't going to cost the MTA in the long run, according to a spokesperson. Though some of the checks were cashed, they were cashed by vendors with ongoing business with the Authority. The money has either been returned to the MTA or turned into credit towards future bills.
And the MTA swears it is getting its house in order. Explained the MTA's COO Charles Monheim, who recently took control of the BSC: "The BSC is a critical part of creating a streamlined, cost-efficient MTA, and we're now moving past some typical startup issues to begin realizing the full potential of a consolidated back office." We'd really like them to get past this quickly, the MTA has enough to worry about already.
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Garth Johnston
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