Suffolk County, NY Article V Department of Audit and Control

§ A5-1 Audit and payment of claims.

[Derived from Charter Sec. 503; amended 2 -26-1980 by L.L. No. 5-1980]

A. No claims against the County, except for debt service, payrolls and judgments or other amounts required to be paid by the County pursuant to court orders or from the insurance reserve fund, shall be paid except upon a voucher verified by the oath of the claimant or accompanied by a certificate made by the claimant to the same effect and certified by the head of the appropriate department, institution, office or agency of the County government and, in the case of purchases for a store account, by the Director of Purchasing, and by means of an order of payment signed by the County Comptroller. No order of payment shall be issued for the purpose of meeting any payroll or item thereof until such payroll has been certified as correct by the Civil Service Commission.

[Amended 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014; 4-9-2019 by L.L. No. 18-2019]

B. Exceptions to the above statement:

(1) The payrolls of unclassified and elected employees are not certified by civil service. It is the responsibility of Audit and Control to ensure the correctness of these payrolls.

(2) In the case of Suffolk County Community College, the president of the college, pursuant to state law [See the New York State Education Law § 6304, Subdivision 6(a).], may certify the payroll of unclassified employees as correct.

(3) The judicial conference, and all the departments under it, is totally separated from civil service and certifies its own payrolls.

§ A5-2 Orders of payment and accounts.

[Derived from Charter Sec. 504; amended 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

Accounts shall be kept for each specific item of appropriation made by the County Legislature, and every order of payment shall state specifically against which of said appropriations the order of payment is drawn. Each such account shall show in detail the appropriation made by the County Legislature, any transfer to or from such appropriation, the amount drawn thereon, unpaid obligations charged against it and the unencumbered balance to the credit thereof.

§ A5-3 (Reserved) [1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § A5-3, Authorization to sell serial bonds, derived from Res. Nos. 320-1966, 81-1972 and 544-1976, was repealed 9-16-2003 by L.L. No. 27-2003.

§ A5-4 Authorization to sell capital notes.

[Derived from Res. No. 766-1972]

A. Subject to the provisions of the Local Finance Law, the power to sell capital notes of the County of Suffolk, New York, heretofore or hereafter authorized to be issued, is hereby delegated to the County Comptroller, the chief fiscal officer of such County. Such capital notes shall be of such terms, form and contents and shall be sold by such County Comptroller in such manner as may be prescribed by him consistent with the provisions of the Local Finance Law.

B. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing delegations of power, the power to sell such capital notes shall include the power to combine two or more separately authorized issues of capital notes for sale as a single note issue, and the power to prescribe the terms, form and contents of such notes shall include:

(1) The designation of the notes.

(2) The date of issue of the notes.

(3) The denominations and numbers of the notes.

(4) The dates for the payment of principal of and interest on the notes, including the number of maturities and amounts thereof.

(5) The designation or the place or places of payment of the principal of and interest on the notes.

(6) The provisions for redemption prior to their maturity, if any.

(7) The provisions for registration, if any.

(8) The text of the notes.

(9) The manner of execution of the notes.

(10) Any and all other provisions relating to the terms, form and contents of the notes which said County Comptroller shall deem necessary or desirable.

C. The delegations of power herein contained shall remain in full force and effect until modified, amended or revoked by a further resolution of the County Legislature.

§ A5-5 Deductions from wages or salaries for federal credit union authorized.

[Derived from L.L. No. 3-1967]

A. Deductions from wages or salaries of County employees for the following purposes of the federal credit union are hereby authorized.

B. The Comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to deduct from the wages or salary of an employee of the County any amount that such employee may specify in writing filed with the Comptroller for dues or savings fund with the federal credit union of County employees and to transmit the sum so deducted to said credit union. Any such written authorization may be withdrawn by such employee at any time by filing written notice of such withdrawal with the Comptroller.

C. Deductions and withdrawals made pursuant to this section are subject to such rules and regulations as the Comptroller may provide.

§ A5-6 Deductions from wages or salaries for Suffolk County teachers federal credit union authorized.

[Derived from L.L. No. 4-1969]

A. Deductions from wages or salaries of certain County employees for the following purposes of the Suffolk County teachers federal credit union are hereby authorized.

B. The Comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to deduct from the wages or salary of employees of the Suffolk County Community College who are members or desire membership in the Suffolk County teachers federal credit union any amount that such employees may specify in writing filed with the Comptroller for dues or savings fund with the Suffolk County teachers federal credit union and to transmit the sum so deducted to said credit union. Any such written authorization may be withdrawn by such employee at any time by filing written notice of such withdrawal with the Comptroller.

C. Deductions and withdrawals made pursuant to this section are subject to such rules and regulations as the Comptroller may provide.

§ A5-7 Deductions from wages or salaries for banks and financial institutions other than credit unions authorized.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014[1]]

A. Deductions from wages or salaries of County employees for the following purposes for banks and financial institutions other than credit unions are hereby authorized.

B. The County Comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to deduct from the wages or salary of an employee of the County any amount that such employee may specify in writing filed with the County Comptroller for deposit with the bank or other financial institution and to transmit the sum so deducted to said bank or other financial institution. Any such written authorization may be withdrawn by such employee at any time by filing written notice of such withdrawal with the County Comptroller.

C. Deductions and withdrawals made pursuant to this section are subject to such rules and regulations as the County Comptroller may provide.

[1] Editor's Note: This local law also redesignated former §§ A5-7 and A5-8 as §§ A5-8 and A5-9, respectively.

§ A5-8 Contractors and vendors required to submit full disclosure statement.

[Derived from L.L. No. 14-1976; amended 2-27-1979 by L.L. No. 6-1979]

A. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

CONTRACT

Any written agreement between Suffolk County and a contractor or vendor to do or perform any kind of labor, service, purchase, construction or public work, unless the contract is for a federally or state-aided, in whole or in part, program required to be bid pursuant to § 103 of the New York General Municipal Law.

[Amended 6-29-1993 by L.L. No. 28-1993[1]]

CONTRACTOR or VENDOR

Any proprietorship, partnership or closely held corporation which has a contract with Suffolk County in excess of $1,000 or which has three or more contracts with Suffolk County, any three of which, when combined, exceed $1,000, except:

[Amended 12-18-1990 by L.L. No. 41-1990[2]; 6-29-1993 by L.L. No. 28-1993[3]]

(1) Hospitals.

(2) Educational or governmental entities.

(3) Not-for-profit corporations.

(4) Contracts providing for foster care, family day-care providers or child protective consulting services.

FULL DISCLOSURE CLAUSE

A proviso to be included as a material part of a contract imposing upon the contractor or vendor a material, contractual and statutory duty to file a verified public disclosure statement.

VERIFIED PUBLIC DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

A declaration, the contents of which are acknowledged before a notary public, containing information required under this section.

[1] Editor's Note: This local law was adopted by the Legislature after disapproval by the Executive on 5-26-1993.

[2] Editor's Note: This local law was adopted by the Legislature after disapproval by the Executive on 12-13-1990.

[3] Editor's Note: This local law was adopted by the Legislature after disapproval by the Executive on 5-26-1993.

B. A full disclosure clause is to be included in all future contracts between Suffolk County and a contractor or vendor. Such full disclosure clause shall constitute a material part of the contract.

C. Notice of the full disclosure clause shall be included and made a part of the specifications, if any, which are submitted to interested potential bidders.

D. Each contractor or vendor shall file a verified public disclosure statement with the Comptroller of Suffolk County as soon as practicable prior to being awarded the contract. An updated disclosure statement shall be filed by the contractor or vendor with the Comptroller by the 31st day of January in each year of the contract's duration. It shall be the duty of the Comptroller to accept and file such statements.

E. No contract shall be awarded to any contractor or vendor, as defined in this section, unless prior to such award a verified public disclosure statement is filed with the Comptroller as provided in this section. Any verified public disclosure statement containing fraudulent information shall constitute, for all purposes, a failure to file such statement in the first instance.

F. The verified public disclosure statement required by this section shall include:

(1) A complete list of the names and addresses of those individual shareholders holding more than 5% interest in the firm.

(2) The table of organization for the company shall include the names and addresses of all individuals serving on the board of directors or comparable body, the names and addresses of all partners and the names and addresses of all corporate officers. The contractor or vendor shall conspicuously identify any such person in this table of organization who is an officer or an employee of Suffolk County.

(3) A complete financial statement listing all assets and liabilities as well as a profit-and-loss statement, certified by a certified public accountant. Such statement shall be the most current available and in no event shall have been prepared more than six months prior to the date of the filing of the bid. No financial statement or profit-and-loss statement shall be required from any contractor or vendor having 50% or more of its gross revenues from sources other than the County of Suffolk.

G. A separate folio for each company shall be maintained alphabetically for public inspection by the Comptroller.

H. Remedies. The failure to file a verified public disclosure statement as required under this section shall constitute a material breach of contract. Suffolk County may resort to, use or employ any remedies contained in Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code of the State of New York. In addition to all legal remedies, Suffolk County shall be entitled, upon a determination that a breach has occurred, to damages equal to 15% of the amount of the contract.

I. Under no circumstances shall the County be precluded from invoking any remedy contained in the preceding section by reason of its failure to invoke promptly its remedies.

§ A5-9 Vendors in tax arrears.

[Added 6-7-1994 by L.L. No. 10-1994]

A. The County Comptroller is hereby authorized, pursuant to § C5-2I of the Suffolk County Charter, to withhold any payments to any vendors or consultants under contract with the County of Suffolk in any instances in which it is determined that said vendor is in arrears on real property taxes, said withholding to be limited, in the aggregate, to the amount of said arrears (inclusive of interest, penalties and other charges).

B. Said moneys so withheld shall be kept in a separate account for payment of said real property tax arrears only or for payment to the vendor or consultant where it is demonstrated that tax arrears have been cleared up, said payments to be credited to the pertinent tax parcel.

[Amended 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

§ A5-10 Funds to be deposited in interest-bearing accounts.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

The County Comptroller is required to place all funds on deposit or in his hands into interest-bearing accounts. The County Comptroller shall file with the Clerk of the Legislature every quarter a report concerning the status of all funds on deposit.

§ A5-11 Service charge for handling certain securities.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

Whenever the County Comptroller is obliged to accept a deposit of securities in lieu of retaining a percentage of the amount due from time to time on a contract, he shall impose and collect from the contractor a charge of 1/4 of 1% of the value of the securities deposited, as such value is determined by the County Comptroller, for his services in determining whether the securities are of the class that can be accepted for deposit, their value, for clipping and transmitting coupons and otherwise processing and servicing the account until it is terminated. Payment of such charges shall be made before release of any retained payments.

§ A5-12 Authority to create petty cash funds.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 371 of the County Law, there is hereby delegated to the County Comptroller the authority to approve the creation or modification of petty cash funds for any administrative unit, up to a maximum amount of $1,500 per administrative unit, subject to the approval of the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee of the County Legislature and a certification by the Budget Director as to the availability of funds for such petty cash funds, except that the County Comptroller shall create or modify a petty cash account for the Department of Social Services in the amount of $20,000.

B. The County Comptroller is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to increase and replenish the petty cash fund for the Department of Social Services within 48 hours if the amount in the petty cash fund falls below $8,500.

§ A5-13 Application of Real Property Tax Law to County.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

The provisions of Chapter 417 of the Laws of 1971 are applicable to Suffolk County.

§ A5-14 Authority to file notice of intention to claim regarding insurance; issuance of certificates.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

The collecting officer for the Suffolk County Tax District, the County Comptroller, is authorized to file notices of intention to claim with the State Superintendent of Insurance. The County Comptroller is further authorized to render to any insurer a certificate indicating the amount of all liens of the district against the real property as required and as prescribed by New York State Insurance Law § 331.

§ A5-15 Release of fire insurance claims.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

A. Chapters 738 and 739 of the Laws of 1977 (see General Municipal Law § 22 and Insurance Law §§ 331 and 3410) have authorized tax districts to file claims on fire insurance policies issued on certain real property located within the tax district. In accordance with the statutory requirements, it is hereby provided that, upon compliance with the procedures set forth herein, any amounts which it would otherwise be entitled to claim will be returned or released to the insured owner of the real property upon which a claim against fire insurance policy proceeds has been filed.

B. The insured owner must deliver to the County a written agreement, subject to the approval of the County Attorney, whereby the owner agrees to restore the affected premises to the same or improved condition that it was in prior to being damaged by fire, within a specified time.

C. The insured owner must post a bond insuring performance within the specified time in the amount of the proceeds to be released.

§ A5-16 Deposit of department proceeds.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

A. The head of each department or agency of the County of Suffolk, or his or her designee, shall deposit into depository interest-bearing savings or checking accounts accruing interest at current market rates all proceeds received by such departments, except as otherwise required by law, and except the special services (budget sub-object 477) account of the District Attorney's office and the County Police Department, in a Countywide system of interest-bearing depository accounts to be established in the name of the County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, said deposit to be made either on the day of receipt of such proceeds or no later than 24 hours after receipt of such proceeds. Said deposits shall be remitted to the County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, no later than 30 days after receipt of same by any such department or agency. The unified Countywide system of interest-bearing depository accounts (super account with subcomponents) shall be established and fully implemented no later than July 1, 1997.

B. All petty cash checking accounts, except the petty cash (budget sub-object 350) account in the District Attorney's office, shall be maintained in such interest-bearing accounts.

C. The T-106 account and departmental bank account for all refunds and recoveries of the Suffolk County Department of Social Services are exempt from the provisions of this section.

D. The County Executive and County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to issue quarterly reports to the Suffolk County Legislature apprising the Legislature of the status of such interest-bearing accounts.

E. The County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, shall adopt internal rules and regulations designed to achieve the following:

(1) To establish cash control coupled with the provision of a written audit trail for each such transaction.

(2) A segregation of duties of employees so as to ensure the integrity of such cash-control and audit-control provisions.

F. The County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, shall immediately contact all County departments which regularly maintain depository balances in excess of $100,000 and inform them that:

(1) Any deposits in excess of said amount are required to be secured by a pledge of collateral, letter of credit or surety bond; and

(2) They are now required to have written security agreements and custodial agreements with the bank or trust company pledging such collateral.

G. The County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, shall execute written security agreements and custodial agreements, pursuant to § 10 of the New York General Municipal Law, with the banks holding collateral to secure deposits of the County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto.

H. Responsible County officials and employees shall monitor the collateral by implementing procedures which would periodically verify the existence, sufficiency and segregation of pledged collateral.

I. Any willful or intentional violation of Subsection A, B, C or G of this section shall form the basis for a suspension, removal or disciplinary proceeding against the individual alleged to be responsible for such willful or intentional violation pursuant to § 75 of the New York Civil Service Law carried out in accordance with the procedural and substantive due process requirements required by law.

§ A5-17 Bank account reform.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

A. Any bank account opened by any department, agency or entity of the County of Suffolk shall be opened in a depository designated by the County Legislature under § 212 of the New York County Law.

B. Any such account shall be opened only with the written consent of the County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, and shall provide that the monthly bank statements generated by each such account shall be forwarded directly to the Office of the County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, together with a bank statement reconciliation from the pertinent County department, office or agency, to ensure a verification and review of returned checks.

C. All moneys received by the County of Suffolk shall be deposited in a bank or depository designated by the County of Suffolk under § 212 of the New York County Law.

D. Any departmental account shall be opened only with the written consent of the County Department of Audit and Control, or any successor department thereto, and only in a bank or depository designated by the County of Suffolk pursuant to § 212 of the New York County Law.

E. Any willful or intentional violation of this section shall form the basis for a suspension, removal or disciplinary proceeding against the individual alleged to be responsible for such willful or intentional violation pursuant to § 75 of the New York Civil Service Law carried out in accordance with the procedural and substantive due process requirements required by law.

§ A5-18 Contract award.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

A. In the course of determining the award of a bank deposit contract, the County of Suffolk shall assign a credit of 0.02% basis points to the proposed interest rate submitted by a depositary responding to the bid process for awarding any bank-deposit contracts by Suffolk County for each of the following consumer protection standards with which the responding depositary is in written compliance:

(1) Not charge a fee for using a live teller;

(2) Not impose minimum deposit requirements in excess of $2,000 to open an interest-bearing account;

(3) Not charge a monthly service fee for the first 15 checks in each checking account;

(4) Not charge a fee to a customer who submits a check written by another party with insufficient funds to cover the check;

(5) Limit the cost for the preparation of a money order to no more than $5; and

(6) Not charge a fee to a customer for receiving copies of checks written for the previous month.

B. In the event that a depositary demonstrates compliance with the requirements of the provisions of Subsection A of this section, then such compliance shall continue and endure throughout the course of any agreement with a depositary once such agreement has been entered into.

§ A5-19 Disclosure.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

Prior to entering into a contract with the County of Suffolk, or prior to the designation of a depositary by the County of Suffolk, and at the initiation of the bid process for awarding any bank-deposit contracts, a depositary shall make a written representation to the County of Suffolk as to whether and to what degree it abides by the consumer protection requirements as listed in § A5-18A above, and that it will immediately notify the County if it experiences a change of control or ownership whereby it will no longer abide by such requirements. Such representation shall be made a part of each contract, together with a representation that an official with authority to bind the depositary entering into the contract with the County has read and is familiar with the provisions of this article.

§ A5-20 Enforcement.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

A. Any contract in violation of § A15-18 of this article shall be null and void ab initio, and any depositary entering into such an agreement shall not be entitled to any compensation pursuant to said agreement.

B. The representations required by § A15-19 of this article shall be incorporated into all contracts entered into by the County of Suffolk with any depositary, and any violation of such condition shall constitute a material breach of the contract sufficient to cause termination of the contract by the County of Suffolk.

§ A5-21 Exemption.

[Added 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]

Sections A5-18, A5-19, and A5-20 of this article shall not apply to any depositary entering into an agreement with the County of Suffolk pursuant to a request or command of the United States government or the State of New York for federal or state grant purposes or programmatic purposes requiring the use of a particular depositary as a condition precedent or a condition subsequent to the receipt of such federal or state aid or the implementation of such federal or state program. In order to qualify for such an exemption, a depositary shall submit to Suffolk County written documentation of such request or command issued by an appropriate official of the United States government or the State of New York.

§ A5-22 Contractors and vendors to immediately notify of cybersecurity breach.

[Added 7-26-2022 by L.L. No. 29-2022]

A. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

CONTRACT

A written agreement between Suffolk County and a contractor or vendor to do or perform any kind of labor, service, purchase, construction or public work.

CONTRACTOR or VENDOR

Any proprietorship, partnership, or closely held corporation which has a contract with Suffolk County.

CYBER

Of or relating to or involving computers or computer networks.

CYBER ATTACK or SECURITY BREACH

An unwelcomed attempt to steal, expose, alter, disable or destroy information through unauthorized access to computer systems.

CYBER EVENT

Any event or occurrence in an information system or network that has or may potentially result in an unauthorized access, processing, corruption, modification, transfer or disclosure of confidential information or a violation of an explicit or implemented company security policy.

DATA BREACH

Occurs when the data for which the contractor's or vendor's business is responsible suffers a security incident resulting in a breach of confidentiality, availability or integrity.

B. Requirements.

(1) Prior to entering into a contract with the County of Suffolk, a contractor or vendor shall make written representation to the County of Suffolk that the vendor has policies and procedures in place for the effective management of any cyber security breach, threat or event.

(2) Any contractor or vendor that contracts with the County shall within 48 hours notify the Chief Information Security Officer ("CISO") and the respective contracting County department(s) within the County of any cyber breach, event or attack. The CISO shall report such notification to the County Executive, the Clerk of the County Legislature, the County Comptroller, and the Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology within 48 hours of receiving the notification from the contractor or vendor. The contractor or vendor, upon completion of their investigation of the cyber breach, event or attack, shall report to the CISO. The CISO shall disseminate said report to the County Executive, the Clerk of the Legislature, the County Comptroller, and the Commissioner of Information Technology, the findings of the digital forensic examination. At a minimum, such report must include specific details as to the data or system breached or affected along with the potential research and remedies that they are pursuing to correct, contain or combat the issue.

[Amended 12-5-2023 by L.L. No. 39-2023]

(3) The requirements in Subsection B(1) and (2) of this section shall be incorporated into all contracts entered into by the County of Suffolk.

(4) Any violation of this section shall constitute a material breach of the contract sufficient to cause termination of the contract by the County of Suffolk.