The Full Record

Proposal 2: Reduce City Contractor Paperwork; Require Regular Meetings of Procurement Policy Board

New York City

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 8 claims re-checked against their sources · 1 corrected · 0 removed

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

  • Corrected the Tal Roded argument: the source identifies him as 'a data scientist and member of Manhattan Community Board 3' who 'supports the proposal,' not someone who 'has studied city contracting for' the board or is opposed; reworded the description and clarified the 387-day figure is the median time from a public-works project's announcement to contract award, not 'the median City contract' generally.
  • Verified: official ballot question text matches the Charter Revision Commission's Appendix A PDF verbatim; McPherson, Ramos, and Jackson quotes verbatim in the Mayor's Office release (Jackson's quote correctly uses an ellipsis where text is elided); Andrew Rein quote verbatim in The City Reporter; 30-day savings estimate confirmed.

The question on the ballot

Proposed Charter Amendment: Reduce City Contractor Paperwork; Require Regular Meetings of Procurement Policy Board. Reduce paperwork for City contractors by authorizing Procurement Policy Board to simplify contractor questionnaire. Require quarterly meetings of the Procurement Policy Board. Remove mandatory hearing for required client services report. "Yes" amends Procurement Policy Board authority, including to simplify contractor questionnaire; authorizes Mayor to delegate certain contract approvals. "No" leaves laws unchanged, with Mayor and Comptroller maintaining longer questionnaire.[1]

The amendment would authorize the Procurement Policy Board to simplify the City's pre-contracting questionnaire for vendors and nonprofits, require the Board to meet quarterly, let the Mayor delegate certain contract approvals to individual agencies, and remove the mandatory public hearing currently required for a contractor's client services report (replacing it with a public comment period). COGE estimates the changes would save up to 30 days on procurements.[1][2]

A YES vote means

Amends the City Charter to authorize the Procurement Policy Board to simplify the contractor questionnaire, require quarterly Board meetings, allow the Mayor to delegate certain contract approvals to agencies, and remove the mandatory hearing for the client services report.

A NO vote means

Leaves the Charter unchanged: the Mayor and Comptroller keep the current, longer contractor questionnaire process, the Procurement Policy Board is not required to meet quarterly, and a mandatory hearing remains for the client services report.

Arguments made for

  • "I'm grateful to see more streamlining of the procurement process in these ballot proposals," said Linda McPherson, President of Local 95 Head Start Employees, describing payment delays that stem from contracting bureaucracy.[2]
  • "We applaud the Committee's ballot proposals to make the City's procurement and award process more efficient so that the workers who deliver these important services are no longer left in the dark about the security of their next paycheck," said Robert Ramos, President of Local 205 Day Care Employees.[2]
  • "Streamlining processes like the pre-contracting questionnaire and mandating PPB meetings through charter amendment ... are crucial steps toward a more efficient and accountable City government," said Michelle Jackson, Executive Director of the Human Services Council.[2]
  • "The mayor has talked a lot about excellence in government, and part of that excellence is speed," said Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission.[3]

Arguments made against

  • "There's no one change that could be made that will magically unlock city contracting timelines," said Tal Roded, a data scientist and member of Manhattan Community Board 3 who supports the proposal. "But I think only shaving 30 days off when it's as long as it is really shows there's a lot more work to be done," he added, noting the median time from a public-works project's initial announcement to its contract award is 387 days.[3]

Research notes & limits

Official ballot question text and yes/no framing are taken verbatim from the Charter Revision Commission's Appendix A filing.

Sources · 3

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.Appendix A: Proposed Questions, 2026 Charter Revision Commission · New York City Charter Revision Commission (COGE) · 2026-07-23 Official record
  2. 2.COGE Releases 5 Ballot Proposals and Final Report to Make Government Work Better for New Yorkers · NYC Mayor's Office · 2026-07-23 Official record
  3. 3.What to Know About NYC's 5 Ballot Proposals Ahead of Election Day · The City Reporter · 2026-09-23 News report