After Newsday inquiry, Suffolk County executive's office rescinds $78G contract offer to politically connected firm

Suffolk County will not move forward with a $78,000 no-bid contract awarded to a politically connected public relations firm to work with the county’s Department of Social Services following inquiries from Newsday this week.

The county’s RFP Waiver Committee, which approves requests for contracts that bypass the traditional competitive procurement process, advanced a contract with VR/PR and its founder, Victoria Ryan, 3-0 at its meeting Wednesday. Ryan is the wife of former Republican state senator and current Suffolk County OTB CEO Phil Boyle.

“After reviewing the contract, the decision has been made to not move forward and instead seek these services through the competitive bidding process,” Mike Martino, a spokesman for Republican Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said in a statement Thursday.

Martino on Wednesday said the firm was selected for its “extensive community outreach experience” and that Ryan's political connections were not a conflict since VR/PR would not perform work on behalf of Suffolk OTB. He did not give a reason for the contract withdrawal.

“Since taking office, County Executive Romaine has continued to implement changes in the DSS,” Martino had said in a statement Wednesday. “This contract is another step in turning the department around as it delivers critical services to the most vulnerable residents in Suffolk County.”

A report from a special grand jury empaneled by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney was highly critical of the department’s handling of the Thomas Valva child abuse case, alleging the department’s Child Protective Services division erroneously deemed abuse reports unfounded. And earlier this year, county officials attributed widespread delays in processing SNAP and other benefits in 2023 to DSS being understaffed.

Romaine has said his administration is working to increase staff and provide employees with additional training, counseling and resources. Recently, Romaine said call wait times for DSS services to the county’s 311 system have decreased from as much as two hours to less than six minutes.

Traci Barnes, chief deputy commissioner for DSS, told the Waiver Committee Ryan would have performed about 15 hours of work per week for the agency at a rate of $6,500 per month, for a total of $78,000 for 12 months.

“Our Commissioner [John] Imhof would like to do some proactive positive press about the Department of Social Services,” Barnes told the Waiver Committee. “Typically, when we're in the paper, it's usually not a good situation.”

The Waiver Committee on Wednesday also approved several resolutions allowing DSS to contract with retired caseworkers at a rate of $45 per hour as the agency works to bolster staff. Of 1,335 authorized department positions, 361 were vacant in 2023, according to a report from the legislature’s Office of Budget Review.

Ryan, who said her expertise is in community outreach, on Wednesday told Newsday she planned to work as a liaison between the department and local residents when homeless shelters are proposed in their neighborhood.

Community resistance has lead to the closure of shelters on Long Island, most recently in May when Babylon Town ordered a nonprofit to shut down a homeless shelter in West Babylon that operated under a county contract.

“Communication is key,” Ryan told Newsday. “And doing that in a caring and thoughtful manner, is really essential, particularly with this population and other people that may have questions or concerns about facilities, potentially being sited by them.”

County Democrats had raised questions about the contract and the need to hire a PR firm for DSS.

"The Department of Social Services has extraordinary men and women working to address the most urgent crises in our communities everyday," said Legis. Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station), former CEO and president of the regional nonprofit consortium Health and Welfare Council of Long Island. "While I very much support the sharing of stories of innovation and strategies that improve the lives of families and communities, as well as increased community outreach, the county needs to address the urgent staffing and capacity issues, as well as the morale of this extraordinary workforce in order to deliver the exceptional services our communities deserve."

Ryan has received government contracts before. In 2013 she received a $60,000 no-bid contract with Islip Town to represent Long Island MacArthur Airport and previously had a contract with Suffolk OTB. It's unclear whether that contract was approved while her husband was at the OTB.

Ryan said she should be evaluated on her accomplishments and not who her spouse is.

“Regardless of who I'm married to, I would like to think in this day and age, that I'm being evaluated based on my own abilities and accomplishments,” she said.

She could not be reached on Thursday to say if she would submit a proposal through the competitive bidding process.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.