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New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. has served a subpoena on the Department of Small Business Services (DSBS) in connection with an audit his office is conducting of the City’s Minority- Owned and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program after the City agency refused to turn over documents it obtained from its consultant analyzing City Hall’s administration of the M/WBE program.

“My office has repeatedly asked for these reports for weeks, but has only met resistance,” Thompson said. “It begs the question: What is City Hall hiding?”

Thompson’s office is seeking copies of all draft and final reports prepared pursuant to a November 2006 contract DSBS entered into with Miller3 Consultants to update disparity study findings in 2005.

Under the contract, which expired in January of this year, Miller3 was responsible for collecting data to provide a complete and accurate analysis of the availability of M/WBEs within the New York City geographical market for two fiscal years, analyzing contractor and subcontractor utilization, and evaluating any barriers to participation. A final report addressing and incorporating comments made and approved by DSBS was to be submitted by January 31 of this year.

Since July 2008, Thompson’s audit division has been conducting an audit of DSBS’s administration of the M/WBE program. Thompson could not comment on the specifics of the audit as it is ongoing.

However, faced with repeated refusals to turn over necessary documentation, Thompson’s office issued two subpoenas this week, one to DSBS and the other to Miller3, which is based at 84 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA.

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