Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef called a Tuesday afternoon press conference to discuss his thoughts on the possible resolution of the county’s longstanding bus contract dispute. Vanderhoef shared a timeline starting from October 2010 of the back and forth wrangling between his office and the legislature over approving a provider for the county’s Transport of Rockland and TappanZee Express bus services.
The resolution, expect to be introduced at the 7 p.m. session, is being sponsored by Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell. It “is intended to clarify and support the record of the proceedings before the Legislature of Rockland County for said approval of Resolution No. 457 of 2012 designating Brega Transport Corp. on RFB-RC-2012-002 the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the operation and maintenance of the Transport of Rockland and TappanZee Express Public Transit Systems.”
Vanderhoef said his office found that Brega did not meet all the criteria set out in the bid while the legislature thought he did. He described the pending resolution as the legislature taking steps to make the bid follow the template set by the federal government.
“We had no interest in who got this award. I said this to you thousands of times but we wanted to make sure we followed the rules and we wanted the legislature to follow the federal rules so we would not lose millions of dollars in federal aid,” he stated.
He said the goal of the two branches of government is the same. “What we want to do is find a bidder and successful vendor to run the program,” said Vanderhoef.
After the April 24 decision by the Appellate Division Second Judicial Department, Vanderhoef said county attorneys would evaluate the bid.
“The legislature and the executive branch have been working together to make sure the resolution covers the template that’ s required by the federal rules. It’s not a change in our view,” he explained.
He expressed willingness to follow through on the legislature’s action.
“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” said Vanderhoef.
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