Rockland Lawmakers Want Out of WestCop Contract

NEW CITY, NY — The Rockland County Legislature is requesting that County Executive Ed Day veto a contract that it approved with the Westchester Community Opportunity Program following reports of allegations of misuse of funds, including taxpayer dollars.

If the contract has already been signed, the lawmakers said they would vote to rescind it at their next full board meeting June 5.

The lawmakers are acting in response to yesterday's report in the Journal News and lohud.com that WestCOP, as the agency is known, allegedly mishandled public money intended mostly for the needy.

“We are shocked and, frankly, disappointed by the allegations of the misuse of funds by WestCOP,” Legislative Chairman Toney L. Earl said in a statement. “People depend on the services it provides. We do not intend to allow Rockland County tax dollars to be used by the agency until we are satisfied the funds are being used properly.”

The lawmakers had approved a resolution that allows the County Executive to enter into a $166,315 contract with the organization at its Tuesday meeting.

WestCOP runs the Rockland Community Action Partnership in Haverstraw and Spring Valley. It also runs Support Services for Veterans and Their Families, which helps prevent homelessness.

Approval of the contract was requested through the county Department of Social Services.

DSS determined that WestCOP was the “sole source provider” for vital services, including crisis intervention, information and referral, assistance with applications, preventing eviction, housing referrals and senior citizen services to residents of Rockland County.

A sole source provider refers to an organization that has been determined to be the only such organization able to provide certain services.

Minority Leader Legislator Lon Hofstein said the organization’s alleged financial issues now put Rockland in a difficult position because the services WestCOP was providing still need to be provided.

“Based on the information made available to us, we cannot authorize funds to be disbursed to WestCOP,” Legislator Hofstein said. “It is the people's money and we have a fiduciary responsibility to watch over it carefully and be assured it is being distributed properly.”

Both legislators said they would work with the County Executive and DSS as a new service provider is identified.

According to the Legislature’s Legal Counsel, the Rules of the Legislature allow the Legislature to recall any approved resolution upon the motion of any legislator at a meeting of the full Legislature. A simple majority vote at any time prior to the return of the resolution from the County Executive allows such action.

If the County Executive has already returned the resolution, either signed or unsigned, the Legislature can vote to rescind the resolution at its next meeting.

PHOTO: Legislator Toney Earl/ Rockland County Legislature