UCCF 3/16/23: Resolutions

Notes on resolutions and general comments:

COMBINED RESOs -266, 267, 268, 271 is giving Election Systems & Software, ES&S, out of Omaha NE additional monies to now total $400,000.  

Comment and a question: I read somewhere apparently there are some issues with ES&S’s software based on an old windows operating system, that there are claims of wrongful vote transference, and as of late 2022 they are trying to interface and get accredited to the newer windows 10 operating system. Have you received an assurance of integrity and full update in their system before you give them hundreds of thousands of dollars?

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RESO -273 is retroactively approving a Collective Bargaining Agreement with PBA

Local 203, Weights and Measures,

Question: For the public please explain the latest agreement of salary increases and benefit impacts. I hope you are not giving out 8, 9, 11 and 18% rasies like you did last year.

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RESO -278 is using $4.2 million in Federal American Rescue Plan monies for the

benefit of providing housing and supportive services for qualifying

populations.

Comment: I do approve this resolution, and that there may be another horrible tidal wave coming in a year or two, with the possibility the economy may tank again observing the layoffs and bank runs of recent days.

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RESO -279 is allowing a contract with the legal firm Weber Dowd Law for $10,000.

Comment: Looks like they donated $14,000 to the commissioner and their cronies political campaigns. The public is starting to recognize the apparent quid pro quo system the county has in place which may help in funding you half a million dollar campaign war chest.  

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Combining RESO -280 and 281 just totaling the contracts with the many amendments to Johnston Communication over the past few years now totals well over $13 million.  This is for providing telephone equipment, install network equipment, cabling and security, and is usually set for a 24 month period. 

Comment and questions: The contracts started out just a few hundred thousand dollars. Then slowly grew to multiple millions with specific equipment now constricting regular bidding as we all know. This appears so out of control.  But why keep adding new equipment thru the many contract adds, is the old equipment self-destructing so needs to be replaced? This needs explanation why this keeps recurring.  These constant adds become very fat with markups of possibly 10-20%.  This then totals $3-400,000 in wasted tax monies thru this process.  Just as an aside you may not be aware, one of the owners Michael Venezia is a democrat running for district 34 assembly seat so us taxpayers may be indirectly funding his campaign with these profits.

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COMBINE  RESO -291 and 292 has to do with the County buying 1591 Irving street, Rahway.  

Question of confusion on this one: This property is already owned by the UC Performing Arts Center, so why is this deal being made between UCPAC and the county since taxpayer monies are being used to transfer over the Arts Center property. As a note, the Arts Center originally bought this property for $150,000.

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(-general comments)

The county never fails to come up with the nuttiest things. I read in the news that we are now going to have a Union County govt Book club.  Why the county has to publicly run this book club not just something some employees internally getting together, or a library, social club or PTA is certainly questionable.  This harks back to when the county wanted to create a Union County Navy which ended up costly and dismantled. Please tell us if this is just for a month and has a certain theme to it.

And the public is also now starting to hear rumors about a very strange incident you were involved with down in Georgia, but for another time.

Thank you.

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