New Nassau County Policy Aims To Combat Corruption, Favoritism

MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County has passed new changes aimed squarely at ending corruption and favoritism. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran on Thursday signed off on a new policy related to county procurement and compliance, her office announced in a news release. Curran last year ordered a yearly review of the policies governing how more than $1 billion in county business is spent.

The purpose of the new policy is to clearly establish how the county can go about procuring goods and services, such as what method can be used and what approvals are needed. All county workers and vendors involved in the process must familiarize themselves with the procedure and abide by the new rules, Curran's office said.

All contracting officers and other personnel will be trained on the new policy immediately.

Major changes policy include a new conflict-on-interest policy for proposal selection committees and a vendor code of ethics. The policy also offers guidance on banning government workers involved in contracting from accepting gifts and includes a new portal for contractors with increased oversight and audit trails.

Here are the other changes:

• Inclusion of inspector general's office in procurement and compliance
• New procedure for officials conducting proposal evaluation
• Added roles and responsibilities within departments to review contracts
• New process and procedure for ensuring timely contracts

"We’re transforming the way Nassau County does business, increasing oversight and implementing strong controls to guard against corruption," said Curran.