GOSHEN- One of Orange County’s information technology vendors, UTC Associates, is questioning the integrity of a recently released report by the legislative committee that was convened to investigate IT contracts in the county.
The committee released a report last week that found county officials improperly procured a contract with a different IT vendor, StarCIO, that was the primary focus of their investigation. The report’s findings took an unexpected twist when the committee referred the contracts of a separate vendor, UTC Associates, to the State Comptroller for review stating it found reports of the company as a “failed vendor” from county officials troubling.
A company spokesman, Robert DiFrancesco, said UTC was unaware that it was a subject of the legislature’s investigation and said the report’s characterization of the company were false.
“We were never notified by the legislature that they were examining our performance and were completely surprised by the report. At no time were we asked to testify before the legislature or provide any documentation for their investigation,” he said. “The characterization of UTC as a ‘failed vendor’ is completely false, inaccurate, and unsupported by fact. UTC should have been provided the opportunity to testify and submit documentation for review.”
UTC has been providing IT services to the county since 2015. According to DiFrancesco, the company has received accolades for the services it provides and has never been put on notice for poor or non-performance. DiFrancesco said that the company even received special commendation for the development of an application during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic through which residents could schedule vaccinations.
When asked about the legislature’s referral of the company’s agreements to the State Comptroller, DiFrancesco said the company’s contract is fully compliant. “UTC is a federally approved vendor and its contract was…
Read the full article here