The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the operations related to the regulation, administration and supervision, among others, of the Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA). A qualified opinion is issued when noncompliance, individually or as a whole, is significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that, from 2010 to 2014, the AMA did not request from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) the reimbursement of $1.9 million to which it was entitled for the salaries and fringe benefits of the preventive maintenance and unit repair employees. It also failed to claim the reimbursement of some 10,331 service orders for inspections and repairs performed by on-route mechanics, and for the preventive maintenance of units. By not requesting the FTA subsidy for these services, the AMA's economic resources were reduced.
The five-finding audit points out deficiencies in the organization of the work, since the repair time for the units was excessive. For example, from a sample, we identified that an engine repair took more than 20 months, a transmission replacement took more than 22 months, and an engine replacement took more than 37 months. These situations, contrary to current law, limit the number of transportation units available to serve the public.
Our auditors identified that the AMA paid the premium for 31 units totaling $35,012 which, at the time the insurance policy was formalized in 2016, had been retired from service. In addition, the Authority did not request the reimbursement of $11,342 paid in the premium for 11 units that were retired from service during the term of the policy.
Added to these deficiencies was the fact that, from 2014 to 2016, the AMA did not have a physical damage policy, for which reason it could not claim $27,570 in damages in five accidents and must return to the FTA the remaining federal interest of $312,546 for three burned units declared a total loss.
The AMA invested $2.8 million in federal and state funds in the installation of a security system of 396 cameras and a monitoring center that finished being installed in 2012. Our auditors validated that, as of May 18, 2018, the system was inoperative since the security cameras and the camera servers were never maintained. The internal security officer indicated that this situation caused the theft of the forklift valued at $31,500, among countless other thefts in the Mechanics Workshop.
The Report reveals other deficiencies related to the lack of adequate supervision in the repair of the units and in the pre-audit process of the repair invoices. In this regard, the Office of the Comptroller recommends that evaluations of the condition of the units be performed prior to contracting the repair with private workshops, that progress reports be prepared, and that evidence of the final evaluation of the repair be kept.
The report covers the period from July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017.
See Audit Report CP-20-02.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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