NYC 911 System Debacle

New York City's 911 emergency system will be 7 years late and $1 billion over budget, and the Mayor of NYC is focused on ensuring that the public does not have the opportunity to read the report that explains what went wrong.

911 System - $1 billion of Additional Costs

Our city already faces the burden and the embarrassment of the City Time Scandal in which the Mayor ignored warnings from his subordinates and allowed the City to suffer a $740 million loss on what was supposed to be a $60 million project to improve payroll management for city employees. In one of the strangest moments of the Mayor's 10 years in office, he stated that the $740 million loss represented a "pretty good job" by his administration.

Now, we have learned that the Bloomberg administration's poor (or nonexistent) oversight of the implementation of a new emergency 911 system is going to cost an additional $1 billion and take 7 years more than original planned.

Mayor Bloomberg sought a third term based on an argument that he possessed superior management skills, yet his mismanagement of the city's funds is one of his clearest "accomplishments" of his 10 years. His failure to control the city's funds will create challenges for his successors and for our city's residents for many years to come.

Hiding the Report

Predictably, the report on the investigation into Mayor Bloomberg's $1 billion of mismanagement of the city's emergency system is being held captive by the Bloomberg Administration.

Bloomberg, talking to reporters Tuesday, defended response times to emergencies — though the unions and City Hall have long sparred over how the times are computed.
“Obviously, things are working. Can we always do it better? Sure. We’ll look at everything, and anybody that’s got suggestions, we'll be happy to take them in,” Bloomberg said, adding that the report will come out when the time is right.
“It’s a preliminary report and we’ll put it in when we get a final report that pulls together all the relevant data.”
The system has 911 operators handle most incoming emergency calls and dispatch them electronically into the police and fire response system. Callers used to have to talk to as many as three operators. The new framework also gives the operator a digital map of where the caller is located.

In February, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ordered the report to be released, but the city recently made an 11th-hour appeal, charging that the document’s release would inhibit city bureaucrats from properly analyzing the system.

Bloomberg is once again opposing the judicial system as the judicial system attempts to hold him accountable.