Monroe County commissioners balk at putting storage contract for election equipment in private vendor's name: 'This is the people's property'

Put off by Monroe County commissioners at their meeting this past Thursday was the renewal of a contract with B&L IT Services for election support services. For several years, B&L has provided support services for elections, including technical support for voting machines. For 2025 and 2026, the contract calls for the county to pay B&L a total of $355,000.

The contract considered by commissioners on Thursday covers support during election years, as well as regular maintenance and testing of equipment, upgrades of the HART voting machines, and potential equipment moves.

On Thursday, commissioners hesitated to approve the contract, only because this time around it includes a storage unit that will be rented in the name of B&L. In the past, Monroe County government's name had been on the lease. As commissioner Julie Thomas put it: "I don't know that I understand why it would not be in the county's name." Thomas added, "This is the people's property."

Commissioner Jody Madeira also questioned the idea that the county government's name would not be on the lease: "Why would we put it in another party's name?"

According to chief deputy clerk Laura Wert, who presented the agenda item to commissioners, the storage unit does not house "the voting machines, per se, but everything that goes along with it."

Factoring into the proposal to put B&L's name on the lease for the storage unit are some already pending claims to be paid stemming from the storage unit lease. That means there is some time pressure.

It would take longer for the Monroe County government to renew the storage agreement, which was previously in the county's name. That's because for the Monroe County government to renew the storage agreement, a public hearing would be required, according to county attorney Molly Turner-King. In addition, Turner-King said, several steps and clauses would need to be added to the agreement for it to be a county government agreement.

Of the options that were offered by the county legal department, the one selected by the county clerk's office was for the storage unit lease to be included in the B&L contract.

Wert told commissioners that B&L is a small business and has been "very kind and very, very patient" waiting for their money.

Thomas indicated that even if there were late fees to be paid, she preferred to put off voting on the B&L contract renewal until the next meeting of the county commissioners. That's what the commissioners decided to do.

The commissioners don't meet this coming week, which makes their next meeting May 1.