Former Pasadena Mayor William Paparian is pushing back against a proposed increase to the city's disaster recovery consulting contract, calling the spending pattern a failure of fiscal oversight.

Paparian submitted written comments to the Finance Committee ahead of its Nov. 10 special meeting, opposing a staff recommendation to add $300,000 to Contract No. 33343 with Frame Group LLC. The amendment would raise the contract's not-to-exceed amount from $1,450,000 to $1,750,000, according to the committee's agenda.

The $300,000 would come from the General Fund.

Frame Group was hired in August 2025 to provide disaster recovery consulting after the January 2025 windstorm and critical fire events, the agenda states. The original contract was $250,000 for three years with two one-year extensions. The Pasadena City Council approved a $1,200,000 increase in November 2025, bringing the total to $1,450,000, according to city council records.

In his written comment, Paparian wrote that the contract would reach "seven times its original $250,000 value in roughly 15 months." He said the prior increase "was approved on November 10, 2025, with limited public information on quantified results."

"The scale of these successive increases does not pass a basic smell test," Paparian wrote.

He posed more than a dozen questions for the committee, asking what measurable results Frame Group has produced, how much of the current $1,450,000 has been spent, and whether the city has received any insurance or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement tied to the consulting costs.

Paparian also asked whether the contract amendment effectively sole-sources expanded work without competition and whether the city has compared the cost of building in-house capacity.

Staff's agenda report states Frame Group provides FEMA Public Assistance support, insurance recovery guidance, claims management and litigation assistance. The report cites accelerated FEMA project timelines and increased technical complexity on projects including the Don Benito Reservoir and Police Training Center as reasons for the additional funding.

The city expects to recover consulting costs through insurance claim preparation coverage of up to $1,000,000, a FEMA management cost reimbursement capped at 5% of accepted projects (estimated at $913,949) and litigation or settlement administration fees, according to the agenda.

The Finance Committee is chaired by Mayor Victor Gordo. Members include Councilmember Tyron Hampton of District 1, Councilmember Rick Cole of District 2 and Councilmember Gene Masuda of District 4. The meeting was scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 10 at Pasadena City Hall.