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Commissioners table mortuary transport award after competing funeral homes accuse winner of unfair advantage; sheriff to take reports
Summary
After purchasing staff recommended Shafer Mortuary Services as low bidder for transport services, multiple funeral-home representatives and transport providers contested the award, alleging that a firm operating both transport and funeral services creates competitive conflicts and that justices of the peace bypassed the bidding decision; the court voted 5–0 to table the award, form a stakeholder committee and have the sheriff take reports for potential grand jury review.
Purchasing staff recommended Shafer Mortuary Services as the lowest and best bidder for county transport/removal services at the Sept. 22 Potter County Commissioners Court meeting. The court then heard extensive public comment from funeral-home owners, transport providers and other stakeholders who said the award process and current practice produced unfair advantages and raised procedural and ethical concerns.
Several speakers urged a return to a neutral rotation or to structure contracts to separate body removal/transport from funeral-home services. Patricia Garcia of Lighthouse Funeral Home and other owners said a mortuary that also operates a funeral home may obtain disproportionate 'judge-call' business when it performs removals. One presenter summarized the procurement data presented at the meeting as showing that Schaeffer (Shafer) received 43% of judge-call removals in the prior year.
Derek Joe, owner of Joe Mortuary Transport, told the court he has been bypassed for calls and said he was threatened with arrest by a justice of the peace while carrying out a contract removal. "I have been slandered. I have been bypassed, and I'd be even been threatened with arrest by a justice of the peace while I was on the scene to pick up a body," Joe said. The court and county staff advised parties that anyone with credible evidence should file a report; Sheriff Thomas agreed to have his office accept reports and forward them for possible grand-jury review.
Commissioners proposed forming a multi-stakeholder committee (including funeral-home representatives, transport providers and JPs) to devise a clear, enforceable process — either a rotation or tightened contract language — and asked the county attorney's office to draft procurement/bid language if needed. The court voted to table action on the procurement award and asked stakeholders to convene and return with an agreed process; motion to table passed 5–0.
No final contract award was made at the meeting. The court directed that, in the interim, the county continue current operations and that interested parties meet with the sheriff to file any evidentiary reports.
