The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners on June 17 ratified payment for completed painting services after the county assessor’s office said a procedural misunderstanding led staff to approve a contract without following the expected procurement steps.

Michael Caslon, St. Joseph County assessor, told commissioners his office took two bids for the work — one from Aaron Patterson and one from an entity identified as Chrisman — and said Patterson’s bid was almost $11,000 lower. Caslon apologized to the board for the confusion and said standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been put in place so the same error does not recur.

“Before we get started, I owe the commissioners an apology,” Caslon said at the meeting. He said his office had taken two bids, that Patterson submitted the lower bid by nearly $11,000, and that Patterson had completed the work; Caslon asked the board to ratify the agreement so the vendor could be paid.

The board first voted to untable the item and then voted to ratify the painting services agreement. The motions were made and seconded; Commissioners Morton, Hazen and Maxmeier voted yes. No dissent was recorded on the ratification vote.

Commissioners said the county will circulate a reminder of procurement procedures to county offices. The record does not include the exact bid amounts beyond Caslon’s statement that Patterson’s was about $11,000 lower, nor does it include Chrisman’s full business name.