Legislators aim to award more county contracts to veterans

The Westchester County Board of Legislators passed a bill on Monday aimed at awarding service-disabled veterans more of the county”™s future contracts.

The legislation, first proposed by Legislator Margaret Cunzio, a Mount Pleasant Conservative, requires county departments and offices to encourage the participation of service-disabled veteran-owned businesses in the county contracting process. It does not establish a fixed quota.

Westchester County”™s Office of Veterans Affairs will submit a report in cooperation with the various county departments to the board each year. The legislation is similar to a New York State executive law set to expire on March 31, 2019.

There are approximately 15 certified sevice-disabled veteran businesses in Westchester County and nearly 450 businesses statewide. “Because of their military experience, veteran business owners tend to have strong leadership skills, work ethic and discipline. All the things we look for when contracting with private businesses on behalf of Westchester taxpayers,” Cunzio said.

Following passage of the bill in the Legislature, County Executive George Latimer said he looked forward to signing the bill into law. “This measure is a common sense way to do what we can here in Westchester to help those who gave so much to help us,” he said.