Jim Thorpe Borough is questioning a bill from its engineering firm on consulting for a stormwater management plan that was under consideration by the municipality last year.

Borough President Greg Strubinger said during a council workshop Thursday night that the $3,763 bill came “as a surprise.”

“We were looking to have a proposal submitted,” Strubinger said. “We didn’t believe there was any authorization for work that would lead to a bill.”

Robert Kerns, of Entech Engineering, said his firm had a scoping session with Councilman Mike Yeastedt and Jim Thorpe Public Works Manager Vince Yaich, and then produced a Sept. 10 report that could give the borough a menu of options for the stormwater work.

“It was specifically discussed in the preliminary work leading up to the report that this was not to be a proposal,” Kerns said. “It was a cost estimate. We were helping the borough get to a point where it would may be asking us to submit a proposal or use that information to put out a formal request for proposals.”

Kerns said that Entech does not bill the borough for everything and, in this case, there was an additional $7,000 worth of work that was not billed.

“This really isn’t about the money for us,” Kerns said. “This is about making sure we understand each other. Serving our clients is what drives us and we want to make sure we’re doing the best we can.”

Entech has been working with the borough for around 20 years. Different representatives from the company have attended municipal meetings over the years and been the liaison with council.

Kerns is new to that role, following Matthew Boggs and Kim Mazur.

Over at least the past five years, borough officials said, there is normally a work order, which then goes before council for approval before any job that would incur a cost is completed.

“If this reverted to a cost estimate, we would have expected to get a work order,” Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said. “When we ask for a proposal, we don’t expect to get an invoice.”

Kerns said Entech’s work led to a list of different options for the stormwater work for Jim Thorpe, from a $390,000 “Cadillac” package covering a complete review of roads, gutters, stormwater and swales in the borough, to $80,000 to simply focus on one particular area.

“Nobody is under the impression that the stormwater work is going to be a quick or inexpensive fix,” Strubinger said. “But it should be clear when the borough is being billed.”

Council did not indicate during Thursday’s workshop whether it planned to pay the bill.

“We gave a good service and we would like to think when you do a good service, you should be paid for the work,” Kerns said. “But we’re not looking to jeopardize our relationship with the borough over this amount of money.”