Wayne County Commission approves series of contracts, union holiday change and legal funding; full list of votes

The Wayne County Commission took votes on a set of routine and time-sensitive items, approving vendor contracts, a union memorandum of agreement and additional legal funding. Several items drew only brief discussion before passing on voice votes.

Votes at a glance - Approval of Jan. 29, 2025 meeting minutes: approved by voice vote. - Item 5: Three-year contract (two 1-year renewal options) with Absol Pure Water Company to supply five-gallon bottled water, dispensers, sterilization and related supplies: approved by voice vote. - Item 6: Memorandum of agreement modifying Article 28 of the collective bargaining agreement with the listed bargaining units to add Veterans Day as a holiday, add one floating holiday (eight hours) per calendar year and remove references to Good Friday: approved by voice vote. Labor relations director Gwendolyn DeYoung said the change removes Good Friday as a holiday in favor of the added holidays. - Item 7: Revision to Resolution No. 2024-750, retroactive Amendment 11 to a comparable-source contract with AT&T Enterprises LLC (accounting/language correction noted): approved by voice vote. - Item 8: Amendment 1 to a legal services agreement with Dickinson Wright PLLC for the China Cochran v. Wayne County matter (adds $70,000): approved by voice vote. Sue Humue, deputy corporation counsel, confirmed the case is active litigation related to a former county employee. - Item 9: Amendment 1 to a professional services contract with Mario Morrow and Associates LLC (adds Appendix D and continues communications services including promotion of state-of-the-county, seniors and veterans outreach, and juvenile/youth services). The commission approved exercising a one-year renewal at the same rate, contingent upon a minor correction to the new exhibit and provision of additional information before full board review. - Item 10: Receive and file an emergency procurement report for a one-year contract with VersaTerm Public Safety US for a cloud-based investigations application for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office internal affairs department: received and filed. - Item 11: Five-year contract with SHI International Corp. to provide Palo Alto next-generation firewalls, hardware, software support and related services for county network protection: approved by voice vote.

What commissioners and staff said: Commissioners generally supported the items as routine or needed: the bottled-water and firewall contracts prompted little discussion beyond procedural questions. Deputy corporation counsel and department directors provided brief explanations when requested. The Mario Morrow renewal generated questions about results from prior outreach; staff said they would supply metrics on outcomes such as Meals on Wheels volunteer recruitment before the full-board vote.

Formal outcomes and follow-up: Several approvals included staff commitments to provide more information at full board or to correct minor contract exhibits before finalization. The Dickinson Wright amendment was approved to continue legal representation in active litigation; the Mario Morrow extension was approved contingent on a minor exhibit correction and additional information for full board.