Legislators on Sept. 22 debated and then held an agenda item related to an emergency contract for employee-group benefits and an associated compensation study after concerns that the county executive had approved emergency authority without timely legislative notice.

The item under discussion was a contract with a benefits consultant and broker listed in meeting materials as "Benefits and Insurance, Inc." (vendor name in agenda: Biz Benefits and Insurance Inc.). Committee members said the evaluation committee had reviewed benefits consulting services but that the compensation study had been added later, increasing the contract amount. Legislators said they were informed the emergency memorandum had been approved on Sept. 15; one legislator earlier referenced an August 27 emergency memo but administration staff corrected the record and said the benefits-related emergency memo was approved Sept. 15 and the contract was finalized the following week.

Sylvia Stevenson, the county’s chief administrative officer, told the body on the record: "The date for the approved emergency memo for the employee benefit consulting services contract was September 15." Whitney Miller in the County Counselor’s Office said she "reviewed the contract as to form, and I approved the form of the contract. I did share concerns about the use of an emergency permit." Miller said she had emailed concerns about the emergency declaration timeline.

Legislators voiced concerns that the legislature had not been informed in a timely way and that the emergency authority had been used to fund services the evaluation committee had not evaluated. Legislator Sean Smith and others said the executive branch should have notified the legislature earlier about emergency actions and argued for additional review; the body voted to hold the item so members could see documentary evidence referenced in committee and review the emergency declaration and related contract materials.

Why this matters: emergency contracting powers allow executives to act quickly when necessary, but the legislature said it has a responsibility to be notified and to review emergency actions that commit significant funds or combine separate consulting scopes. Legislators framed the hold as a procedural step to examine procurement, notice timing and any potential project-scope changes that increased the contract value.

Next steps: The legislature held the item and directed staff to provide the emergency memorandum and the contract documentation to the body; the county counselor said she would look into legal code questions about notice requirements and the use of emergency authority and return with guidance.