The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a favorable opinion with exceptions of the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Trujillo Alto related to the management and control of the operational budget, the construction of permanent works and improvements, the purchases of goods and services, the contracts and the lawsuits, among others.
The Report reveals accumulated deficits in the Operational Fund of $1.7, $5.3, $5.3, $4.3 and $4.8 million from 2012 to 2016 respectively. In addition, in the budgets of fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2018, the Municipality did not appropriate the necessary credits to reduce the current deficits as provided by Act 81-1991 on Autonomous Municipalities and the Regulation for Municipal Administration.
The nine-finding audit points out that, without having the permits from the Permits Management Office, the Municipality began to build the La Cascada Icon Park, the House of Culture and restrooms at the Arrayanes Court. In addition, the contractors were not required to provide the required bonds and policies, which left the Municipality without guarantees in the event that they did not finish the work.
Our auditors identified that an engineer was hired for $164,000 to design construction plans for a parking lot, a street of a passive park and a walking and riding track, which served no purpose since the Municipality did not have the funds nor was it able to acquire the land. In addition, the contracting of cleaning and green area maintenance services was split up to avoid the public bidding procedure. This type of action prevents free competition, the availability of alternatives and the selection of the best offers.
Contrary to Regulation 33, 115 contracts and 198 amendments were recorded in the Office of the Comptroller up to two years after being awarded. The Municipality also did not submit to the Governor, nor to the Legislative Assembly, nor to the Office of the Comptroller the Annual Report on the Status of Privatizations as provided by Act 136-2003.
The Report comments on the measures taken by the Mayor and the Municipal Legislature in 2015 to address the fiscal crisis of Trujillo Alto. In addition, as of March 30, 2017, 29 civil lawsuits filed against the Municipality for $20.5 million were pending resolution by the courts.
The Report covers the period from January 1, 2012, to March 31, 2017.
See Audit Report M-18-10
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