Albany County pays outside firm $133K for public relations campaign

May 28-ALBANY - Albany County has agreed to pay a public relations firm more than $100,000 per year to promote the county's economic development efforts despite receiving at least one other bid offering similar services at a fraction of the price. Among the items the Baker Agency will produce for the contract is a podcast featuring County Executive Daniel P. McCoy and a quarterly newsletter. The county currently produces its own McCoy-hosted podcast, "Albany County Direct," and newsletters not produced by the agency have been hitting local mailboxes in recent days. At its May 13 meeting, the county's Contract Administration Board voted to award the $133,500 contract to the Baker Agency, a well-known Albany-based public relations firm. In her brief presentation to the board, Chief Communications Officer Mary Rozak said the county had received proposals from 18 agencies. She told the board that the county was seeking "a qualified firm that has a strong history with economic development for our marketing, media relations, social media management (and) communications because Albany County, in its most recent history, has had the need now for some strong economic development communications." Materials submitted to McCoy and Rozak as part of Baker's successful bid say the company will provide "integrated marketing, media relations, social media management (and) video production" services for the county executive's office and the Advance Albany County Alliance, the county's public-private development arm. It will also develop multimedia materials, including a podcast, quarterly newsletter and video content for the county. Geoff Reddick, the Baker Agency's lead on the Albany County account, said Thursday that the firm's contract with the Advance Albany County Alliance had expired and that the new contract with the county would focus on "the economic development space." He said the Baker Agency was not involved in the production of the glossy, color spring newsletter from McCoy that county residents began receiving in the mail over the last week. A bid from Relentless Awareness, another well-known Albany public relations firm, was among the proposals the county rejected. Joe Bonilla, the firm's co-founder and a highly visible figure in Capital Region political, business and media circles, signed off on a bid to do the county's economic development communications work for $4,000 per month over the next 12 months. The Relentless bid also included multimedia services, and the proposal said the firm would put seven people on the project. The bid from Baker said six of their staffers would work on the Albany County account. The county agreed to pay Baker a $10,708 monthly retainer for the next year in addition to $5,000 in estimated reimbursable expenses. It is unclear how the county settled on the Baker Agency. In response to a request for comment that sought that information, Rozak responded with a message she apparently intended for someone else: "FYI, Patrick Tine from the Times Union texted about Baker winning the proposal and asking what prompted the decision to go with them. Also asked if the county produced the newsletter mailer," she wrote. "Not responding as we are not responding to any Times Union requests." Rozak did not respond to follow-up questions about the bidding process. The Times Union has submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for the proposals from the other bidders. The Baker Agency's proposal contained more detail on some of its offerings than the pitch from Relentless Awareness. Its bid contained proposed branding for the county's economic development podcast, which, according to the proposal, will be called "Getting the Deal Done" and will feature "behind-the-scenes narratives" on Albany County development matters. Hosts will include McCoy and Advance Albany County Alliance CEO Kevin O'Connor. The newsletter will also highlight business development and will be drawn from content provided by McCoy's office and the alliance. The firm will also "design, review copywriting and distribute (the newsletter) to all interested and subscribed parties," the proposal said. It is not the first time McCoy's administration has looked beyond is own public relations operation to burnish the county's image. Earlier this year, it paid $29,300 to Florida-based Pioneer Production Services to be featured in the segment series, called "The Viewpoint." The video features a brief intro by the actor Dennis Quaid before giving way to interview-style footage of McCoy speaking about the county. County Republicans criticized the latest public relations effort on Wednesday and the way in which it was approved. The three-member Contract Administration Board had been empowered to approve county expenditures up to $100,000 without bringing a proposal to the County Legislature for a full vote. That threshold was raised to $215,000 last year, with every Republican in the legislature voting against it. "This award would've received more scrutiny from legislators if it went through the normal committee process, as was the case before the Contract Administration Board's threshold was raised," Albany County Legislative Minority Leader Frank Mauriello said in a statement. "A taxpayer-funded, campaign-like mailer and PR contract are great examples of what happens when the legislature votes away its own responsibilities."

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