New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer called for cutting consultants and re-establishing the city as the lead in an overhaul of the emergency 911 system.
In an Aug. 6 statement that followed a 60-day technical review of the Emergency Communications Transformation Program, de Blasio also insisted on integrating stakeholder agencies into program management and execution, and adopting project-based approach to ensure effective completion.
Anne Roest, the commissioner of the city's Division of Information Technology and Communications, led a review that revealed several root causes for repeated program challenges and delays, including overreliance on external consultants and lack of communication among and input from stakeholder agencies.
According to de Blasio, the city can accomplish major components of the initiative and remain within the established capital budget of $2.03 billion.
"The changes we have outlined today will improve the city's emergency response communications program for generations to come," the mayor said.
Stringer's office and Department of Investigations Commissioner Mark Peters conducted their own reviews.
"Instead of strong city governance, the project outsourced critical responsibilities to consultants who were insufficiently accountable to the city," said Stringer, who added that inefficiency led to years of delays and hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs.
Stringer's review of the ECTP upgrade shows that in 2004, its estimated capital cost was projected to be $1.345 billion, but by July, the estimated cost had soared 73%, to $2.326 billion.
According to Stringer, the capital cost estimates were understated by at least $39 million, which reflects two contracts that do not appear to have been included in previous cost estimates.
"This program produced an outrageous waste of funds due to the lack of oversight and accountability," said Stringer.
The city in 2004 began the ECTP, a multi-year, multi-agency initiative to modernize and consolidate the 911, the nation's most complex.
By the end of 2013, the projected opening date for the city's second emergency call-taking and dispatch center was December 2015. In a May briefing, Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris was told that the go-live date would be pushed back to 2018. In addition to the delay, the cost was expected to increase by at least $100 million, city officials said.
De Blasio halted major work on the project to conduct the examination of all facets of the program.
