Pasco commissioners uphold award of $32.3M disaster-recovery management contract after protest hearing

Pasco County commissioners on Sept. 16 upheld the county administrator's denial of a protest and approved a $32,337,119.29 contract with IEM International to provide program management services for the county's CDBG-DR (Community Development Block Grant ' Disaster Recovery) program.

What happened: Carrie Roberts, purchasing director, briefed the board on a protest filed by GrantWorks after an evaluation committee shortlisted three firms and recommended IEM as the sole awardee. Roberts summarized the protest's four main allegations: evaluator bias, procedural errors, IEM's prior experience (including a Pennsylvania termination matter), and pricing. She said the evaluation committee reconvened on July 29 and voted to uphold its ranking.

GrantWorks' case: Dylan Rivers, attorney for GrantWorks, argued the procurement process was flawed and that there was evidence of bias and inconsistent evaluation procedures. "There's clear evidence of bias that at least one evaluator was predisposed in favor of IEM," Rivers said, and he noted an evaluator comment that "it was theirs to lose, referring to IEM." GrantWorks also raised past performance concerns about IEM's work in Pennsylvania and asserted that pricing comparisons during the evaluation were inconsistent. Rick Faircloth of GrantWorks said GrantWorks had direct Florida CDBG-DR experience and presented lower pricing estimates during oral interviews; Faircloth warned of a potential post-award escalation in IEM's fees.

IEM response: Christopher Lenny, attorney for IEM, told commissioners the RFP process and the evaluation were properly conducted and said the protest did not establish grounds to overturn staff recommendations. "This RFP and these submissions were very carefully vetted throughout this process," Lenny said. IEM disputed allegations of misconduct, said a Pennsylvania contract termination was handled via a memorandum of understanding and characterized the matter as resolved administratively rather than a proven termination for cause.

County review and board action: Purchasing staff said the committee reconsidered the materials and the IEM response and the committee reaffirmed its original ranking. The county administrator and legal staff also reviewed the protest. After extended public presentations and questions from commissioners about pricing details, subcontractors and past performance references, the board voted to uphold the administrator's denial of the GrantWorks protest and to award the contract to IEM.

Contract safeguards and next steps: The board authorized the chairman to execute the agreement with IEM and instructed the county attorney to have outside counsel review the contract. Commissioners also delegated authority to the county administrator to execute task orders under the agreement and to approve issuance of checks or warrants associated with CDBG-DR distributions (subject to ratification by the board at the next meeting). County counsel confirmed the agreement includes standard termination-for-cause and termination-for-convenience provisions; commissioners directed staff and counsel to tighten contract language and oversight where necessary.

Key numbers and process facts from the hearing: Purchasing staff said 11 proposals were received; the shortlist included GrantWorks, Hagerty Consulting and IEM; evaluation and shortlisting occurred in June and July 2025; GrantWorks' protest letter arrived July 16; the evaluation committee reconvened July 29 and reaffirmed IEM as the top-ranked firm. The contract award approved by the board is $32,337,119.29.

Ending: Commissioners approved awarding the contract to IEM while directing county attorneys to seek a prompt outside review of the agreement and to return to the board if contract amendments are recommended. The county also delegated authority to manage task orders and interim check issuance under the grant program, subject to later ratification by the board.