GOSHEN – Democratic Orange County Legislators Michael Paduch, the minority leader, Genesis Ramos, and Laurie Tautel, have raised questions as to how Star CIO was chosen as the interim chief information officer for the Information Technology Department that the county recently created. That function was previously part of the general services department.
The lawmakers said the president and CEO of Star CIO is a relative of Langdon Chapman, the county’s human resources commissioner. Sources said he is, in fact, Chapman’s brother-in-law.
The three legislators sent Republican County Executive Steven Neuhaus a letter on Monday requesting information as to how the company was selected, and as of Tuesday morning, they received no response.
Late Tuesday, County Attorney Rick Golden said, “The procurement of the contract was in full compliance with all applicable State and County laws and is entirely proper. The related Department Head had absolutely no involvement in the review of the quotes received or in the selection of Star CIO as the successful quote.”
The three lawmakers requested the documentation, which they have not received.
They requested:
- The competitive bid or request for proposal (RFP) for Chief Information Officer services issued by the County
- The executed contract, with related approvals, between Star CIO and Orange County
- A complete record of invoices, with related approvals, issued to the County from Star CIO
- A complete record of all payments made by the County to Star CIO
Golden also said, “The document request is broad, and the documents requested are being compiled to send to the Legislature as soon as they are ready.”
Ramos said they have been unable to find a bid or request for proposal for procurement of the contract and they question whether Star CIO was a sole or single source business.
“We are calling for the public release of the requested documents to ensure that the contract satisfies all the county procurement policies, and if it does not, we wish to initiate a formal investigation into the matter,” Paduch, Ramos and Tautel said.
