Commissioners award guardianship-audit contract amid public complaints about guardianship program

The Brazos County Commissioners Court on Feb. 25 awarded contract 25‑080 for independent auditing of guardianship services to Thompson, Derek & Craig PC after an initial solicitation for proposals yielded none.

County staff reported that the original RFP drew no responses and that Thompson, Derek & Craig eventually submitted a proposal after outreach to multiple firms. A commissioner said that many local accounting firms “don’t like to do audits anymore,” leaving a limited pool of potential vendors.

During public comment after the contract discussion, a resident who did not identify themselves by name described personal family harm associated with the county’s guardianship program, saying two family members “were hurt tremendously by the guardianship people” and alleging financial harm. The commenter said those experiences may explain why some firms decline guardianship‑related audit work.

The court approved the contract by motion and voice vote. The transcript records discussion about the sourcing process and public concern but does not provide a roll‑call tally of votes. The agenda entry lists the recommended vendor as Thompson, Derek & Craig PC under award contract 25‑080.

County staff and commissioners noted the broader goal of encouraging local businesses to bid on county contracts; one commissioner said he had reached out to the chamber of commerce about a potential county/business outreach event to increase local bidding participation.

No details about the length of the audit contract, price, or specific audit scope were read into the public record at the Feb. 25 meeting; that information was not specified in the meeting transcript.