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Commissioners question Shouse Professional Services billing and FEMA-related documentation
Summary
Commissioners pressed finance staff and contractors over repeated invoice misspellings, unexplained mileage entries and multiple 'senior FEMA project manager' charges; a $46,905.62 Shouse invoice failed to pass and staff will request a revised invoice with supporting documentation.
Commissioners spent significant time on Nov. 6 scrutinizing contractor invoices tied to the county's flood recovery, focusing attention on a Shouse Professional Services invoice that was rejected for unclear documentation.
Commissioner Sainsburg called out apparent errors and inconsistencies in Shouse invoices, saying that travel, mileage and expense entries were “consistently misspelled” and that many entries were billed at a senior FEMA project manager rate without visible vetting. He asked whether resumes or CVs for billed personnel are on file and whether the county had solicited competing bids for that service. "Have those people been called and vetted? Have we talked to other communities they've allegedly worked for?" he asked during the public exchange.
Other commissioners and staff questioned large mileage entries (for instance, repeated 561-mile charges) that lacked origin/destination detail and documentation. Staff said project numbers and team member names were noted on some pages, and pledged to request clarifications and ask contractors to supply travel logs or corrected invoices. Speaker 12 emphasized the need for accurate invoices if the county intends to submit claims to FEMA: "If we are turning this into FEMA with the hopes of getting that money back, it's gotta be right...everything has to be dotted, your t's crossed."
Outcome: A motion to approve Shouse invoice 101025 for $46,905.62 failed; commissioners directed finance to ask the contractor for a revised, fully documented invoice before reconsideration.
Context: Commissioners said some invoices will be used to seek federal reimbursement, and inaccurate or poorly documented claims could jeopardize recoveries. The discussion also touched on whether grant programs (BRIC) and FEMA guidance used by contractors remain current and whether county staff and contractors are applying appropriate expertise.
Next steps: Finance staff will request corrected invoices and travel/mileage logs from Shouse and other contractors flagged for documentation issues. The commission also requested a periodic summary of disaster spending and reimbursements.
