Rock Springs city employees have been cleared of wrongdoing after a county investigation found no evidence the city's engineering contract selection process improperly favored a former mayor's engineering firm.
The finding stems from allegations by Rock Springs resident Shirley Cukale and City Councilman Rick Milonas, who claimed the city's request-for-proposal (RFP) process lacked transparency and unfairly benefited JFC Engineering, according to a letter from Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe.
The investigation's conclusion arrives as Mayor Max Mickelson and Milonas — longtime political adversaries — are both running for mayor alongside Katherine Phelps. The top two finishers in the August primary will advance to November's general election.
Mickelson announced the findings Tuesday in a video posted to the City of Rock Springs Government Facebook page.
“'Corrupt as hell’ — that's the accusation that got thrown around about our city," Mickelson said.
Mickelson said he doesn’t normally read from prepared statements, but “occasionally there is an issue that is severe enough that I need to read from a prepared statement to ensure I am being completely accurate.”
Bitter Creek Contract
The county investigation centered on whether the city of Rock Springs demonstrated a conflict of interest when it awarded a $372,000 contract to JFC Corporation — the engineering company owned by former mayor Tim Kaumo – to manage the Bitter Creek Reconstruction Project.
Kaumo pleaded no contest in 2023 to official misconduct and conflict-of-interest charges after a joint FBI and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation probe into city contract bidding. Investigators found Kaumo improperly used his position in 2020 to steer work to his engineering company.
In an October 2025 letter to then-Sweetwater County Lieutenant Rich Fischer, Milonas alleged Kaumo still maintained a financial interest in JFC and noted Kaumo, City Engineer Paul Kauchich and City Attorney Richard Beckwith were childhood friends.
Milonas also alleged Kauchich selected every member of the RFP evaluation committee and claimed the process lacked independent oversight.
Erramouspe rejected those claims.
His investigation found the city issued 11 engineering-service RFPs between January 2023 and February 2026. JFC received three of those contracts.
"There is no evidence that any of these awards were made illegally or in violation of the statutory RFP process," Erramouspe wrote. "Additionally, the fact that JFC received only three of eleven contracts strongly suggests the process is not being manipulated to systematically favor the firm."
Erramouspe also denied Milonas' request for the names of RFP committee members.
“Corrupt As Hell”
Although Mickelson did not identify who called the city "corrupt as hell" in his video, Milonas sent Fischer an April 3 email stating the city's reputation had become tainted.
"A corrupt reputation makes us ALL look bad," Milonas wrote.
He alleged that Mickelson knew about a "corrupt RFP process" but "chooses to do nothing."
Mickelson told Cowboy State Daily those accusations unfairly targeted both city employees and elected officials.
"Not only does Councilman Milonas accuse our city employees of being complicit in corruption, but he states I am actively participating in it," Mickelson said. "Elected officials have a higher duty to ensure their statements are based in fact. ... It is a dereliction of duty to make statements like the one Councilman Milonas made based on nothing more than vapors."
He said the investigation demonstrated the city followed Wyoming law throughout its procurement process.
"Nothing was held back," Mickelson said. "We are following state statute on our RFP process."
Milonas Pushes Back
Milonas responded Wednesday with a Facebook video of his own.
"Oh, Maxine's at it again," he said. "Corrupt as hell. I never said that. Never."
He said he is trying to move forward and focus on solutions.
“But it’s extremely hard,” he said, “because I’m always defending myself.
"We need change. And that change is going to take a very special person. Very special, like myself. Mayor Rick Milonas, 2026."
Milonas also connected the investigation to a series of ethics complaints exchanged between himself and city officials over the past year.
Milonas said Fischer called him on March 30, 2026, to talk about the October 2025 letter.
A day later, he said, police showed up at his door and handed him a formal ethics complaint. The complaint, filed by Urban Renewal Agency Director Chad Banks, alleged that Milonas was abusive and created a hostile work environment for city employees after Milonas accused Banks, who is gay, of advancing a “gay agenda.”
The complaint came five months after the city council adopted a code of ethics that Milonas alone opposed.
Milonas retaliated with his own ethics complaint against the mayor, saying, “He ambushed me at a City Council meeting about a conversation he eavesdropped on and falsely accused me of saying things I didn’t say.”
In May, the Rock Springs City Council dismissed Milonas’ complaint, one week after finding that he had violated the city’s ethics code in Banks’ complaint against him.
Cost Beyond Dollars
Mickelson said he addressed the investigation publicly because residents deserved to know the city had been accused and ultimately cleared.
"The office of the mayor has a duty and an obligation to keep the public aware of what its government is doing, good, bad and indifferent," he said. "Muckraking because of sour grapes is a disappointing position for an elected official to take."
While the city was cleared, Mickelson said the allegations still came at a cost.
It cost taxpayers money, and it weighed on the consciences of city employees, he said.
“The employees in our city get up every day and do this work honestly,” he said. “They heard ‘corrupt as hell’ applied to their jobs and applied to their work.
“I am incredibly tired of people throwing mud, for whatever reason, about who we are.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
