PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — He’s a highly paid Oakland County Deputy County Executive who works for the taxpayers. So why does an outside company that he owns have lucrative contracts with other local governments?
Watch Heather Catallo's video report:
Financial disclosure has been a hot topic for months in Oakland County government. County officials have come under fire recently over outside jobs and outside business interests, prompting some to call for major ethics reforms.
So are these private business deals an advantage when it comes to experience, or are they conflicts of interest?
WEB EXTRA: Extended interview with Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter
Oakland County Deputy County Executive Sean Carlson knows procurement. Not only has he overseen Oakland County’s purchasing department, Carlson owns a procurement company. It’s a staffing business that helps governments source goods and services.
Even though Carlson earns $224,487 a year as a Deputy County Executive, records obtained by the 7 Investigators show he also owns Procurement Consulting Group.
It’s a private company that has provided purchasing staff to local governments, including Livingston County, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and with neighboring Wayne County.
Carlson was hired by Oakland County in 2019. Records show Carlson’s Procurement Consulting Group, or PCG, has been providing Wayne County with procurement staff since 2016. In 2023, PCG landed a Wayne County contract valued at up to $8,467,961.24 for 3 years and can be extended for 7 years for up to $14,522,783.14.
Related story: Oakland County commission asks lawmakers to create financial disclosure rules amid controversy
In PCG’s Wayne County contract, Carlson is listed as both a principal of the company and the owner.
“Is that a conflict?” asked 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
“A thousand percent, a thousand percent,” said Oakland County Commissioner Charlie Cavell (D-Ferndale).
“Lines have become very blurry in Oakland County in regard to serving the public or serving our private interests,” said Oakland County Commissioner Kristen Nelson (D-Waterford).
Nelson and Cavell have been calling for financial disclosure and ethics reforms in Oakland County since May.
“Sean's business wins that contract. And that's really bad, in my opinion, because he's an Oakland County deputy executive making over $200,000 a year. His day job is to run IT, airports, economic development, and purchasing, and the Pontiac redevelopment project. Purchasing is a core function of his job,” said Cavell.
Carlson has been leading Oakland County’s redevelopment that will move county employees to downtown Pontiac, a project county officials say is expected to cost taxpayers between $370 - $390 million.
And that’s not Carlson’s only connection to the city. A few months after Oakland County closed on the land for the redevelopment deal on August 16, 2023, Pontiac city records show Carlson’s Procurement Consulting Group landed a deal of their own with the city on January 31, 2024.
PCG’s first invoice was paid on April 26, 2024, just days after Carlson appeared at the Pontiac city council meeting on April 16, 2024 with an update on the county’s massive investment in their downtown.
And at the same meeting where Carlson updated the Pontiac City Council again in early 2025, the council voted to extend the PCG contract until July.
In total, city invoices show Pontiac has paid PCG $355,780.
Related Story: Oakland County leaders call for criminal investigation into controversial IT contract
“That feels all too convenient,” said Cavell. “It's the perception of bad behavior, because we need, as people in government, to have people trust us because we're using your money… So, if you don't trust us, then this whole thing falls apart.”
City spokesman Jacob Jefferson told the 7 Investigators, “The City of Pontiac was unaware of Mr. Carlson’s connection with Procurement Consulting Group when we entered into a contract with the Company. The standard procurement process of the City was followed, and PCG was engaged using the consortium option.”
Sean Carlson told the 7 Investigators he is not involved in the day-to-day operations with his company and said he had no idea PCG had gotten that contract with Pontiac until after it was approved.
Carlson said he told the Pontiac mayor he was the owner after he learned about the deal.
“If you have disclosure, then you can stand up and look at the facts,” said Jim Townsend.
Townsend is a former state representative and is now the director of the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University. He says while not every outside job or source of income is inherently bad, Oakland County does need financial disclosure and ethics rules so taxpayers know who else is paying our public officials.
“I would say in the absence of disclosure, then I think residents have a lot of reason to doubt that their interests are being well served,” said Townsend.
The 7 Investigators asked several times to interview Sean Carlson on camera, and county officials told us no. So, we caught up with his boss County Executive David Coulter to ask about Carlson’s company.
“Isn't that a contract of interest?” asked Catallo.
“My understanding is he's taken no votes and made no decisions on the business that they pursue. He has put that into, not a trust per se, but treats it as if it's a separate entity, that he’s not involved in,” said Coulter.
“How can you be sure he's not enriching himself with the relationships he's building with the county?” asked Catallo.
“I've seen no evidence of it,” said Coulter. “I've not seen a single bit of evidence that says that he has enriched himself or done something inappropriately.”
Late on Wednesday, Sean Carlson answered questions by phone. He was transparent and even answered questions about his outside income, saying when asked that he earns between $250,000 and $500,000 dollars from PCG, depending on the year.
Carlson says PCG has saved Wayne County about $30 million. He also says his vast experience in procurement actually helps Oakland County in his role overseeing Economic Development.
Meanwhile, Executive Coulter’s top appointees will all be publicly disclosing their outside income and jobs starting in January 2026.
Carlson says he disclosed his finances to his bosses last summer, and will also have to continue to do that since he’s now running for state senate.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com