If elected as comptroller, Brannan guarantees payments to nonprofits within a 30-day timeframe.
In a bid to address the ongoing issue of late payments to nonprofit organisations in New York City, candidate for New York City Comptroller, Justin Brannan, has proposed a comprehensive plan to overhaul the city's contract procurement and payment system. The proposal aims to ensure timely payments, streamline processes, and enhance accountability.
Brannan's plan emphasises several key reforms. To begin with, he proposes that all contracts be registered within 30 days of their start date, a measure intended to expedite the payment process. Furthermore, he aims to ensure that all invoices are paid within 30 days of submission, unless flagged for dispute.
In an effort to boost transparency and accountability, Brannan plans to publish agency-by-agency payment timelines, compliance reports, and a new real-time dashboard to track unpaid invoices, late payments, and agency performance. Agencies that consistently miss payment deadlines would be penalised and required to submit annual corrective action plans for late contract registrations.
Brannan's plan also includes the establishment of a new task force within the Comptroller's office dedicated to expediting nonprofit payments and clearing the existing backlog. As of April 2025, the city owed nonprofits at least $1 billion for more than 7,000 unpaid invoices, some of which date back years.
The issue of late payments to nonprofits has been a subject of concern for several years, prompting audits, reports, task forces, and proposed changes from the New York City Council, the Adams administration, and Comptroller Brad Lander's office. Brannan, as chair of the finance committee in the City Council, has been actively involved in efforts to address this issue, which he has described as a "full-blown crisis."
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Brannan's chief rival in the comptroller race, has also released a plan for tackling the longstanding payment delays. However, specific details about Levine's proposals and any contrasts with Brannan's plan were not available in the search results, suggesting further information is needed to compare the two candidates' approaches.
Nonprofits play a crucial role in providing essential services on the ground, including sheltering the homeless, providing meals, offering free child care, among others. Despite the ongoing efforts to address the issue, late payments have continued to pose a significant challenge for these organisations, forcing many to take out high-interest loans, lay off staff, cut back services, or even close.
If elected Comptroller, Brannan would have greater oversight over the procurement and payment process, enabling him to address the problem through the office's auditing authority. Brannan, along with City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, introduced several bills in April, including measures that would require the city to pay 80% of each year's contract up front and establish a new city agency called the Department of Contract Services.
Brannan's intention is clear: to use every tool available to make sure the city keeps its promises regarding timely payments to nonprofits. In his statement, he expressed his commitment to ensuring that nonprofits receive the support they need to continue their vital work in the city.
- Justin Brannan's proposed plan for the New York City Comptroller position focuses on personal-finance matters, particularly the timely payment of invoices to nonprofit organizations, and includes policy-and-legislation changes such as initiating the registration of all contracts within 30 days of their start date and mandating payments within 30 days of submission.
- In an attempt to enhance accountability and transparency, Brannan's plan involves general-news publications of agency-by-agency payment timelines, compliance reports, and a real-time dashboard to track unpaid invoices, late payments, and agency performance, with agencies that consistently miss deadlines facing penalties and annual corrective action plans.
- To further address the ongoing issue of late payments to nonprofit organizations, Brannan's plan includes the creation of a special task force within the Comptroller's office to expedite nonprofit payments and clear the existing backlog, with the objective of reducing the $1 billion owed to nonprofits for over 7,000 unpaid invoices as of April 2025.
