Commissioner details $6M stabilization and $4M WTC investigation funding needs
Shahada details DOI's need for approximately $6 million to stabilize operations, including $4.53M for OTPS restoration, $1.14M to reverse the 50% vacancy reduction, and $290K for five entry-level investigators, plus $4 million for the council-mandated 9/11 toxins investigation using a third-party vendor.
I hope and expect that City Hall and the City Council will properly address our need for additional funding in the adopted budget.
As city officials continue to weigh DOI's budgetary concerns and decide how best to address them,
I want to be transparent with the council and the public on the budgetary landscape faced by DOI with the current cuts set forth in the executive plan, as I have been with the mayor's office.
DOI will need approximately $6 million to stabilize its budget for the
the next fiscal year.
This includes approximately $4.53 million to restore other than personnel services or OTPS funds that have been cut in prior years, approximately $1.14 million to reverse the recent 50%
vacancy reduction that was imposed across the board for all city agencies, regardless of size or need in the executive plan,
and $290,520 to fund five new entry-level investigator positions to sustain DOI's core operations.
In addition, DOI requires an additional $4 million to conduct the investigation mandated by the City Council
regarding what prior mayoral administrations knew about environmental toxins produced by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
This funding will pay for a third-party vendor with specialized expertise to assist with this record's intensive investigation.
The vendor would report to and be managed by DOI.
To be clear, if DOI does not receive additional funding, I will need to move forward with some very difficult decisions that will have a tangible impact on our operations and ability to meet our anti-corruption mandate.
Without the additional PS funding, DOI will need to eliminate defunded lines and key vacancies across critical areas that include executive leadership,
legal oversight, frontline investigative squads, and vital technical support staff.
DOI will also need to decrease incoming salary levels for certain remaining vacancies, which also has an impact on the experience level and skill that DOI will be able to recruit and hire.
Recognizing the challenging budgetary landscape faced by the city, the funds I am requesting are strictly limited to providing stabilization funding for DOI to ensure it
can fulfill its essential operations and conduct the council-mandated World Trade Center investigation.
At this time, I am not requesting further investments in the agency
to meaningfully enhance its anti-corruption capabilities.