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Politics & Government

Freeholder Candidate Wants Prosecutor To Probe Board of Health Deal

Board of Health won't join Michele Rosen's call for computer service probe

Democratic freeholder candidate Michele Rosen got no support from Ocean County’s Board of Health this week in her efforts to coax the county prosecutor to probe a computer services contract.

The board on Wednesday turned aside her plea for that panel to join her in asking the county’s prosecutor to probe spending on the contract she claims was awarded without competitive bids the board required.

Specialty Systems Inc., of Route 37 was awarded the contract and has been paid $48,000 to design a website, a sum she said was “outrageously expensive.’’

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Rosen, of Waretown, is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Joseph H. Vicari of Toms River.

Board chairman Jack Mallon said Specialty Systems was hired under a contract with Ocean County, so other bids were not required.

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“I’m not sure the county contract is legal,’’ Rosen countered. She said she has copies of board records that show other spending with Specialty Systems for computer consulting. What was supposed to be billed at $125-an-hour was billed at $145-an hour, she charged. The result was a $20,000 “overpayment,’’ she claimed.

Some of the services were billed to a grant for the 2009-10 H1N1 flu program, she said, urging the board to ask the prosecutor to come in and “determine if the use of the county contract is appropriate.’’

“I feel we have done everything appropriately,’’ Mallon replied.

“Are you accusing anyone of a crime?’’ demanded board attorney Jack Sahradnik. Rosen said she was not, but suggested Director of Administration and Program Development Victoria Miragliotta be put on “administrative leave,’’ while a probe is conducted.

“I don’t appreciate being accused of things,’’ Miragliotta responded, saying she did not administer or approve use of the H1N1 grant funds. That spending was cleared by Sahradnik and officials providing the grant, she said.

“You’d rather have the taxpayers pay for the services, not the grant?’’ Mallon asked Rosen.

She said if that was the case “you might take a little more care in how the money was spent.’’

Rosen also criticized Miragliotta for refusing to give her a copy of the board’s budget, saying she got only three pages of the spending document introduced April 6, and denying her access to the department’s bank statements with Harmony Bank.

She wants those records because board funds are deposited there and its vice chairman, Sen. Robert Singer, is an officer there.

Sahradnik said Rosen’s request for the bank statement was “overbroad’’ in his opinion and that of the state Public Records Council staff member with whom he consulted.

Rosen pressed her demand, saying what she was given “is not a budget. The public has a right to have a breakdown of what you’re spending.’’

Miragliotta said Rosen is running for office, and that fueled the criticism.

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