I tried like heck to get a full accounting of the costs of Musicfest 2008 over several months by placing dozens of Open Public Records Requests, pouring over the gibberish and then requesting more documents, etc.. Several times I used my allotted 5 minutes to address the freeholders during meetings to request that they stop the “guess what record to ask for OPRA game” and simply turn over the information and conduct the peoples business with transparency.

On January 29, 2009 in a last ditch effort at fairness to present the county’s numbers I wrote a polite email to the county manager and copied all the freeholders. The county responded like a guilty criminal – they lawyered-up.

In an email from an assistant union county council I was told in part that my “OPRA requests, both proper and improper have been afforded an appropriate legal reply…. I regret she didn’t explain to me how exactly you improperly request government records, but was grateful she stated …Specifically as to Musicfest ’08, you have submitted approximately 31 requests for information, and, in each and every instance, a full and complete response has been provided. Please be guided accordingly. Alexandra De Fresco, ESQ. ASSISTANT COUNTY COUNSEL

Well there you have it folks, the county has given me a full and complete response to every request for records I could think of that would make the Musicfest 2008 expenses clear to the public and they memorialized this fact with their own in-house counsel’s admission to same.

The expenses for Musicfest 2008 is anything but clear, further if John or Jane Q public tried to keep their company records in this gibberish fashion the IRS would conduct a full audit and hefty fines payable to Uncle Sam would be levied.

Although a new department was recently created to run events such as the Musicfest, and coincidentally a freeholders niece was put in charge, there was no budget kept by this department for the expenses. All of this while the county is planning to outsource the entire Engineering department and possibly shutting down a golf course in an effort to be fiscally responsible.

Although the county advertised a rain location to be Kean University, no agreement was entered into with Kean, and Kean security guards had no knowledge of the plans when asked. It’s not clear who was in charge of securing the rain location. I doubt it was the Engineering Department where coincidentally a freeholder’s relative was transferred out of before the outsourcing plans were announced.

The most interesting places money was found are the ones that aren’t subject to the OPRA. The county is funneling money through the Union County Performing Arts center to hire the entertainment for Musicfest. What the public is given is a bill from the UCPAC to the county, but no substantiated bills outlining how they spent our money. The UCPAC didn’t submit itemized bills, or any written documentation to the county on how they were spending pubic funds. There is not one piece of paper or email to the county manager, the freeholders or the department overseeing the Musicfest, as to what acts were being hired to perform. This causes my watchdog mind to wonder what else they don’t put on paper and what are they hiding?

It also appears that the UCPAC collected donations for the Musicfest. The Union County Alliance is involved at least though a $7,000.00 contract to advertise “certain county departments” in their Union County Directions newsletter, which was used to promote Musicfest.

The county provided two different donation lists in response to separate OPRA’s placed at different times. One donation list has a total of $170,000 another has a total of $261,600 with $30,100 shown being paid to the UCPAC and $1,000 to someone named Scott. Please see the county’s spreadsheet for yourself, I couldn’t make this stuff up.

Two contributors were Union County entities, the Union County Votech School and Union County College collectively donated $10,500 of our county tax dollars, and state run Kean University donated $20,000 state tax dollars. That’s $30,500 in public funds being donated to the Musicfest under the guise of “corporate sponsors”. Kean, the Votech School and Union County College also support the Union County Alliance Newsletter with advertising revenue.

What was even more disturbing about Musicfest 2008 than the hidden costs and lack of transparency, was the irresponsible decision to proceed even with the threat of Hurricane Hanna.

While news reports from around the state showed the measures that other counties and towns were taking to prepare for a possible disaster the County of Union showed no regard for public safety and went full steam ahead with their plans to have 50,000 people visit flood prone Cranford. “We’re telling all attendees to bring rain gear,” said Union County Manager George Devanney in a Sept. 5, 2008 article. “I think we’re going to be OK on the wind”. There was a power outage Friday that spanned from Cranford to Roselle Park causing hundreds of businesses to close. There have been no reports as to the cause of this outage.

In the Star Ledger, appointed County Manager George Devanney, State Senator Ray Lesniak’s nephew, described the cost to taxpayers for Musicfest 2008 as “a negligible effect on a $400 million county budget.” Gee but it must be nice to have $400 million dollars at your disposal, it’s nicer than having only $300 million. Devanney increased the county budget over $100 million in the few years that he has been in charge. When money is no object all costs are negligible.

In a Star-Ledger article Devanney stated that about $300,000 was raised and the county will spend approximately $300,000 more. Despite my best effort to drag the documentation to prove this out of the county I can not tell you what the costs of the Musicfest 2008 were. It even appears that they may have made money.

Weather Insurance was seemingly miraculously purchased
just days before the 2008 event when Hurricane Hanna was expected to arrive during Musicfest with heavy rains. Amazingly the county managed to get coverage despite having overlooked the fact that they never finalized the documents. Imagine telling your insurance agent that you are going to total your car in a few days and they say sure no problem, here’s $400,000 to cover it. The county was reimbursed $100,000 for Friday 9/5/08 and $300,000 for Saturday 9/6/08.

The best number I could come up with was $465,281.09, this is with just $100,000 appropriated for talent and other expenses are missing. But it includes $35,872.78 for 627 hours of employee overtime and 11,460 paid to Cranford and Kenilworth Police for security. VIP tent catering for 2 days was $27,936.76 and the VIP port a potties cost $2,930.00.

Musicfest 2009 is shaping up to be even more perplexing for watchdogs of government spending.

Recorded in the December 4, 2008 freeholder meeting minutes: County Manager Devanney stated that $265,000 to This is it! is to promote MusicFest 2009 and it is the same amount as last year. He explained further that $275,000 of the $400,000 received from the insurance company due to inclement weather during MusicFest 2008 will be going toward the Union County Arts Center (that’s up from $100,000 in 2008) and approximately $250,000 from corporate sponsors along with the remaining $125,000 from the insurance money will be used towards MusicFest 2009, hence, MusicFest 2009 will essentially pay for itself.

Whatever.

Reports that a relative of the county manager was put on the UPAC payroll at around the time of the $275,000 payment to UPAC have not been substantiated. The county manager also denied this charge during a freeholder meeting.

All the other gibberish….

There is more than one event going on during the Musicfest. There is the Musicfest, the Kids Kingdom and the Rock-on Walkathon. Efforts to follow the dollar for these events proved just as futile.

In 2007 the county used their website to solicit and process donations for the Love Hope Strength Foundation. The county manager’s wife was the treasurer. The Union County Watchdog Association tried unsuccessfully to acquire a complete list of donors through the OPRA.

Despite not having to disclose donors through OPRA, in 2008 the county stopped funneling this money through the public’s website. Instead county employees were directed via a letter from the county manager on county stationary mailed with county postage to visit websites that appear to be separate from the county’s.

Another letter was mailed to some, if not all employees, by the Love Hope Strength Foundation using a return address of 221 Sherman Avenue, Berkeley Heights, the same address the county manager’s wife’s business, Keywood Strategy, is located. What is important to note here is that public employee home addresses can not be acquired by the OPRA. It is considered personal information. Somehow county employee Victoria Drake, acquired county employee addresses and mailed a letter as the president of the Union County Love Hope Strength Foundation.

If there is nothing to hide than why all the intrigue and secrecy making it a time consuming futile process for the public to follow the dollar not only for a public event but for what is admittedly a worthwhile charity? Is it possibly because the county manager gets a free trip & stuff from the charity due to donations from county employees and vendors?

Whatever.

“We’re able to showcase what’s best about Union County and our corporate sponsors. I believe everyone benefits from that, it elicits pride, it lets Union County put on its best face.” George Devanney Star-Ledger September 5, 2008