Administration

The Law Department's Administration Division provides a level of professional support comparable to that of any large company. The Division's components—Personnel, Payroll and Timekeeping, Facilities and Maintenance, Supplies, Fiscal Management, Internal Control, Cashier's Office, Encumbrance Control Unit, Procurement Services Unit, and the Budget Section—are responsible for all expenditures of funds, collection of revenue and fees, procurement rules compliance, and personnel processing. They provide general administrative oversight and development of internal policies, rules, and regulations.

The Administration Division's Procurement Services Unit is responsible for conducting and supervising all procurement and contract activity for the entire Law Department, including the retention of experts in support of litigation and outside counsel law firms; agency-wide contracts (e.g., car service, court reporters, foreign language interpreters, contract attorneys, photocopying, automated litigation support, messenger/process server services, etc.); and all agency computer hardware, software, and IT consulting services. The volume of such activity is significant, exceeding 4000 procurement and contracting events annually. The Procurement Services Unit is also responsible for preparation of all Contractor Performance Evaluations and for dealing with all issues involving any Law Department contractors.

Each year, Administration handles over 35,000 paychecks, personnel actions, payments for expert witnesses, requests for court reporters and depositions, deposits of money recovered in lawsuits on behalf of the City, hundreds of individual procurements, and the enrollment of employees in the health benefits/managerial benefits program. Administration is also responsible for ensuring the physical maintenance of 12 Citywide offices in addition to the Kingston, New York office. The Division's objectives are to save time and money for the Law Department and the City while ensuring first-rate service. Administration's efforts continue to focus on expansion and renovation of the agency's facilities, speedy responses to staff changes, and automation of systems and processes. The Division also provides oversight and advice to other agency enterprises such as litigation support, information technology initiatives, equipment upgrades, and management evaluations, and continuously evaluates how it can utilize technology to increase the agency's efficiency.

The Division continues to be a Citywide leader in the planning and implementation of new technology to further support the Law Department's mandate. Because of this, it stands out in providing enhanced service while remaining functional and user-friendly to all constituents.