The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Arroyo with respect to budget administration, construction of works, purchase of goods and services, and awarding of bids, among others. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliances, individually or together, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that one of the quotations submitted for the rehabilitation of the Jovita Manatou and José de Choudens schools, and of the La Palma Ward Community Center, was false. Our auditors verified that neither the contractor mentioned in the false quotation nor any of its employees had prepared the document. The lack of diligence of the officials and employees then caused the Municipality to disburse $55,986 in a flawed selection process.
The eight-finding audit notes that improvements to the Ricardo Silva park were awarded for $115 thousand with a single quotation submitted. In addition, the Municipality contracted the construction of a bridge in the Yaurel ward and improvements to the Rubén Gómez park without obtaining the construction permits from the Permit Management Office, and without requiring the contractors to post the corresponding bonds (payment bonds). Similar situations had already been commented on in Report M-14-48 of May 13, 2014.
Contrary to Act 81-1991 of Autonomous Municipalities, in July 2014 the mayor granted a promotion to an employee who did not meet the minimum academic preparation requirement for the position of information systems officer. In addition, he kept 33 employees as temporary for periods of up to 10 years, distorting the merit principle in public service. Temporary appointments, as a rule, should not exceed one year.
The Report evidences that payments were made without the certifications that the services were received in conformity, without the signature of the pre-auditors, without the original invoices or without written requisitions. Our auditors also identified multiple deficiencies in the personnel recruitment process and the noncompliance of up to one year in sending monthly payroll and position reports to the Office of the Comptroller.
The audit comments on the accumulated deficit in Arroyo's Operational Fund of almost one million dollars for fiscal year 2015, the possible violation of the federal law related to the authorization and accumulation of compensatory time, and the seven civil lawsuits filed against the Municipality for $45.7 million.
The Report covers the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015.
See Audit Report M-18-20.
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