CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Amid allegations of bid manipulation, the Nueces County Appraisal District has placed Assistant Chief Appraiser Leticia Roberts on paid administrative leave following claims that she attempted to rig the selection process for a new computer software system.
During an unintended Teams meeting left open on February 7, representatives from GSA Corp claim they listened to a two-hour conversation between NCAD Assistant Chief Appraiser Leticia Roberts and another staff member discussing how to modify the Request for Proposal (RFP) to favor one specific vendor.
Shannon Davis, Executive Vice President of GSA Corp, detailed the allegations in a letter to Board Chairman Kevin Kieschnick. She presented what she described as evidence of an effort to stack the scoring process against her company's software bid for a new Computer-Aided Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system.
Wednesday, the board placed Chief Appraiser Ronnie Canales on paid administrative leave and terminated the current RFP process. While GSA Corp explicitly states they are not accusing competing software company True Prodigy of wrongdoing, the letter calls for a thorough investigation into the procurement process.
Thursday, Kieschnick told 6 Investigates that the allegations contained in the letter played a role in placing Canales on administrative leave and that the board did not have authority over any other employee, including Roberts.
"I think the letter speaks for itself," Kieschnick said.
Interim Chief Appraiser Debra Morin said Roberts has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
In the letter to Kieschnick, Davis alleges that Roberts and the other staff member spent over an hour discussing ways to modify the RFP scoring process, including awarding partial points for questions and editing requirements to give the selection committee more discretionary power. The letter suggests that specific scoring criteria were manipulated, such as redefining parcel counts and adding restrictive language to disqualify GSA's bid.
The document, obtained by 6 Investigates through a Texas Public Information Request, also raises concerns about the software demonstration process. Only two of five committee members attended the full demonstration, with key staff members like Canales not attending. Davis notes that department managers who did attend reportedly found GSA's software impressive, but these perspectives were not reflected in the official presentation.
Roberts is accused of making multiple unsubstantiated statements about GSA, including claims that the company is "new to Texas" and "not Texas compliant." The letter suggests these statements were made without proper verification and potentially misrepresented the company's capabilities.
Internal communications revealed in the document show additional concerning dynamics, with Roberts and her colleague reportedly criticizing Neil Lindeen, the district's information systems manager, for not "being a team player" and worrying that he might inform the board chairman about their actions.
The current allegations are not the first time concerns have been raised about the CAMA software procurement process.
As KRIS 6 News has previously reported, at a February board meeting, Lindeen suggested the RFP process might have been designed to favor a specific vendor and expressed reservations about the selection method.
According to the GSA letter, Roberts and her colleague were particularly concerned about Lindeen potentially speaking up, with the letter noting they were worried he would "talk to who would then talk to Kevin (Kieschnick), and Kevin would cause problems at the meeting by asking questions."
The letter provides additional context to Lindeen's earlier statements. In the Teams call, Roberts and another staff member allegedly criticized Lindeen and referred to him by the nickname "Papa Smurf." Despite this, Lindeen had persistently raised questions about the procurement process, arguing that the RFP seemed designed to favor a specific vendor.
Davis's letter goes further, claiming that when Lindeen expressed concerns about potential behind-the-scenes manipulation during the board meeting, he was quickly dismissed, leaving him "in a very precarious and embarrassing position, vulnerable to retribution."
To substantiate their claims, GSA Corp included a screenshot of the Teams meeting, which they argue proves their presence during the alleged conversation. The screenshot shows the meeting start and end times, along with the company's attempts to alert Roberts that they could not hear her initially.
