The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues an adverse opinion on the acquisition of equipment and services related to the maintenance of the pools of the Natatorium of the Mayagüez Campus. The three-finding report reveals that the excessive expense of $183,600 in the purchase of pool maintenance equipment of dubious effectiveness exceeded the limits of austerity and modesty.
The audit reveals that the process to acquire the equipment was deficient, since no evaluation was carried out on the supplier's proposal. In addition, the Director of the Natatorium did not inform either the Bids Board or the Purchasing Department of a negative recommendation about the Grander equipment from a consultation he made with an owner of pool maintenance equipment in Florida, and the acquired equipment also did not have the National Sanitation Foundation certification required for the public use of pools in Puerto Rico. (Annexes 2, 3, 4 and 5 present an illustration and photos of the Grander pool maintenance equipment.)
The audit recommends that the Secretary of Justice take the pertinent measures regarding the supplier of the Grander pool maintenance equipment, who presented himself as the exclusive representative in Puerto Rico of the manufacturer in Austria. The supplier indicated in his proposals that he was a chemical engineer, but the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico certified to us that this person is not registered and is therefore not authorized to practice the profession nor could he use his title.
Our examination also revealed that for the Natatorium maintenance services, $464,832 were disbursed from 2010 to January 19, 2016 without a bid, and the regulations related to emergency purchases were not complied with.
See Audit Report CP-17-06
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