A Little Rock consulting company filed a lawsuit this week in Pulaski County Circuit Court claiming the Arkansas Black Mayors Association breached two contracts with the company and has refused to pay two invoices from November 2022 the company says it is owed.
According to a complaint filed Thursday, the Arkansas Black Mayors Association entered into discussions with Capacity Building, Consulting & Analysis LLC (CBC&A) in February 2022 to evaluate the potential for federal funding to address the problem of flooding in low-income communities in Arkansas through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NCRS).
Enabled through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, the USDA was authorized to develop policies and procedures for the planning, development, design and construction of watershed projects through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) program. The WFPO program provides for cooperation between federal, state and local governments to address resource concerns and, under the program, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical and financial assistance to plan and implement authorized watershed projects for flood prevention and other purposes.
According to the complaint, the Mayors Association contracted with CBC&A under a consultant service agreement on Aug. 1, 2022, to assist with procuring federal dollars to implement watershed projects intended to alleviate flooding in predominantly Black communities in southeastern and eastern Arkansas. The complaint said that CBC&A negotiated an agreement with NRCS to secure financial assistance for the planning, design and construction for 19 proposed watershed projects.
In September 2022, the complaint said, the Mayors Association was awarded $87,509,750 in USDA funding as the fiscal agent for the implementation of 14 of the 19 proposed watershed projects. On Nov. 4, 2022, the complaint said, CBC&A signed a contract with the Mayors Association to become the lead consultant for the implementation and management of the watershed projects at a rate of $115 per hour on a project-by-project basis, with invoices to be paid within 45 days of receipt.
Six days later, the complaint said, the Mayors Association elected Lewisville Mayor Ethan Dunbar as chairman of the association to replace outgoing chairman Julian Lott, who was mayor of Camden until he was defeated for re-election in the December 2022 runoff election.
On Nov. 29, 2022, according to the complaint and supporting documents, Kalven Trice, lead consultant for CBC&A, sent two invoices totaling $51,307 to Dunbar for the completion of the signed watershed agreements and for post-watershed agreement activities.
On Dec. 14, 2022, the complaint said, the Mayors Association executive board met with CBC&A to discuss the consulting firm’s “continued furnishing of services without any payment,” attributed the failure to remit payment to “internal turmoil” — the nature of which was not elaborated upon in the complaint — and asked that the firm continue despite the payment delays “in light of Defendant’s promises to honor the Agreements.”
On Jan. 3, 2023, the complaint said, Trice sent an email to Dunbar asking when the invoices would be paid, which it said the Mayors Association responded to with a proposed revised Lead Consultant Services Agreement containing “significant modifications” to the original agreement.
In a letter dated Jan. 17, 2023, from Trice to Dunbar, Trice called the proposed contract revision “unacceptable,” and “a formula for failure and a continued delay in making progress for project implementation.” Trice said in the letter that the firm “has not been paid since August 2022 when contract and agreements were signed,” and said further watershed implementation activities would cease until the invoices were paid and the contract concerns resolved.
In a letter dated Feb. 3, 2023, to Trice, Dunbar said the Arkansas Black Mayors Association was severing its relationship with Trice and CBC&A and that any outstanding invoices should be submitted to the executive director.
The complaint filed Thursday claims that the Arkansas Black Mayors Association breached the terms of both the Consultant Service Agreement and the Lead Consultant Agreement and asked for “compensatory damages … in an amount to be proven at trial,” as well as prejudgment interest, attorney’s fees, costs and expenses.
It was unclear on Friday if the Mayors Association had been served with the lawsuit. Dunbar was out of state on Friday, according to his office, and Executive Director Frank Bateman could not be reached.
Trice, reached by phone Friday afternoon, declined to comment.
