Middlesex County officials answered public questions about a planned contract with the law firm Florio, Perugia, Steinhardt, Capelli & Tipton to provide counsel on federal regulatory matters and funding opportunities.

A member of the public asked the board what kinds of federal matters the firm would handle and whether the arrangement amounted to lobbying in Washington. The county explained the county’s interest in securing expertise to navigate federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and Health and Human Services, and to monitor the status of grant applications and other federal funding streams.

In response to a direct question, a county official said, "I would not characterize it as lobbying because lobbying is a regulated thing that needs to be done. We're hiring them as counsel, to be able to interact with those agencies. They'd be affiliated with the regulations, the process of processing applications, and also finding out the status and seeing to the extent that we can just keep things in line." The official identified Mr. Steinhardt as the lead person from the firm but said other firm members would also be involved.

A member of the public noted the firm’s out-of-state status and questioned large spending. County officials said they advertised for attorneys with federal regulatory experience and intend to retain counsel to assist in protecting and pursuing potential grants and federal funding for county projects. The transcript records the public questions and the county’s explanation but does not include a council roll-call vote or a contract number in the provided excerpt.