if or a Vt' 211..-EQX LEGESLATOR. -- DISTRICT 14 F. WELCOX L-EGISLATOR - DISTRICT 14 75 MIDDLEBROOK LANE ROC1-E ESTER. NEW YORK 14618 OFFICE: (585) 753-1940 l-iOM13: (585) 473-6631 FAX: (535) 753-1946 L: net November 21, 2013 To The Honorable Monroe County Legislature 39 West Main Street Rochester, NY 14614 RE: Authorizing the Creation of a Special Committee to Perform an Internal Review into Irregularities Related to Contracts with Local Development Corporations Honorable Legislators: For more than five years there have been serious questions of irregularities and lack of transparency related to the County's contracts with Local Development Corporations (LDCS). These questions erupted into the public realm recently with criminal charges against_several individuals for rigging bids, laundering money and outright theft from these contracts. In order to perform a credible internal review, safeguard the integrity of the process and protect taxpayer funds, the Legislature must create a Special Committeeto take over the review currently being performed in secret by former lobbyist and Republican Attorney General Dennis Vacco. We know that the County Executive provided written consent to the assignment of the contract-at issue in many of the criminal charges: the $100 million contract which was assigned from Siemens to Navitech. An assignment which occurred despite the fact that Navitech had been in existence for less than one month, had no work history, no experience and no employees. For these and other reasons, we believe that it is critical for internal investigation involving LDCs to be taken over and conducted by the County Legislature. The questions surrounding the assignment of the $100 million contract alone are serious enough to warrant much greater legislative scrutiny. If any due diligence was performed prior to the assignment consent in late 2008, why were no red flags raised in relation to the new vendor's total lack of history or experience'? In addition to this specific contract assignment, there are other concerns with the County's contracts with its LDCs which need to be examined so that we can recommend meaningful reforms to ensure these activities are never permitted to take place again. It is simply not credible for the County Executive to oversee an investigation into her own office. This clear conflict of interest must be rectified. These matters have been the subject to some sort of review by former Attorney General Vacco, but, to date, none of that information has been shared with the Legislature. Despite this lack of transparency, the County Executive has acknowledged that unnamed "irregularities" were discovered in relation to the Navitech contract. Without knowing all the information we simply cannot allow this intemal review to continue to be overseen by the same people who were intimately involved in the decisions being reviewed. We must protect taxpayer funds. We have been elected "to serve as an independent check and balance to the actions of the Executive branch of county government. Residents expect us to faithfully perform the duties for which we were elected and we mustnot let them down. The decision must be made by the Legislature to take control and ensure the integrity of this review and this government. We cannot allow this process to continue shrouded in secrecy. Therefore, we propose that this Honorable Body appoint a ternporary inv.estigatory committee pursuant to the attached resolution. The specific legislative actions required are: 1. Adopt the resolution, as attached, establishing a Special Temporary Investigatory Committee to investigate irregularities related to contracts with Local Development Corporations. This proposal will have no impact on the revenue and/or expenditures of the current Monroe County Budget. Respectfully Submitted, Justin Wilcox Legislator -- District 14 /7 . /Siwx/7>>: Carrie M. Andrews - Willie I . Lightfoot W. Kaleh Dernocratic Minority Leader Assistant Minority Leader Assistant Minority Leader /$57 flew"; Joseph D. Morelle, Jr. Glenn J. Gamble PaulE. Haney. Legislator -- District 17 Legislator Legislator -- District 23 Joshua Bauroth John Lightfoot Michael Patterson Legislator -- District 24 - Legislator .-- District 25 Legislator District 29 By Legislators and Intro. No. Resolution 0. OF 2013 AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO PERFORM AN INTERNAL REVIEW INTO IRREGULARITIES RELATED TO CONTRACTS WITH LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE COUNTY OF MONROE, as follows: Section 1. Pursuant to Section of the Monroe County Charter, the Legislature hereby creates a Special Committee to investigate the County's contracts with Local Development Corporations, including, without limitation, any subcontracts thereto, and the county administtation's oversight of the contacts, in general. A Section 2. The Committee shall be comprised of three majority members of the legislature and three minority members of the legislature, who shall be appointed by the President at the recommendation of the Majority Leader and Minority Leader respectively. The members shall be subject to confirmation by the Legislature. The Majority Leader and Minority Leader shall each designate one of their three recommended members to serve as Co-Chairpersons of the Committee. Section 3. As set forth in of the Charter and Section 209 of New York State County Law, the Committee shall have the following powers: to subpoena witnesses; to administer oaths; to require the production of books, papers, and other evidence; and to obtain professional and technical advice. to appoint a temporary advisory board of citizens Section 4. Except as herein provided, subpoenas shall be regulated by County Law Section 209 and the Civil Practice Law and Rules. If a person subpoenaed to attend before the Committee fails to obey the command of such subpoena, without reasonable cause, or if a person in attendance before the Committee shall, without reasonable cause, refuse to be sworn or to be examined or to answer a question or produce a book or papers, when ordered to do so by the Committee, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and may be prosecuted therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction. Section 5. The Committee shall make reports to the Legislature regarding its progress and findings, which reports shall include the persons who have testified and the costs of the investigation to date. Section 6. Any expenditure of funds shall require prior approval by resolution of the Legislature. Section 7. This resolution shall take effect immediately. File No. 13-0 .LL ADOPTION: Date: Vote: ACTION BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE APPROVED: VETOED: SIGNATURE: DATE: EFFECTIVE DATE OF LOCALALAW: