The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Manatí related to human resources, service contracts, property, and lawsuits. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that $23,940 was paid in excess to a retiree who was granted six service contracts whose functions met the same supervisory characteristics of a regular position. In addition, appointments were made to positions not contemplated in the classification and compensation plans, and salary differentials totaling $140,672 were granted to 12 employees without evidence of the extraordinary justifications for those salaries.
The six-finding audit notes multiple situations contrary to Act 81-1991 of Autonomous Municipalities, such as prolonged acting appointments of up to 56 months not submitted for confirmation by the Municipal Legislature, personnel regulations not updated, and personnel classified as transitory for up to 35 months. A similar situation had already been commented on in Report M-15-10 of 2014.
As of June 30, 2016, Manatí owed $849,624 to the Aqueducts and Sewers Authority, of which almost half the amount was part of a payment agreement that the Municipality was not meeting. Our auditors identified that the annual physical inventories of the property for the years 2014 to 2016 were not performed, property of the Atenas Community Health Center acquired for $101,643 was not labeled, and three tractors were not located, nor was evidence of their disposal presented to us.
The Report of five special comments mentions that compensation was granted to an employee who was receiving a pension from the Retirement System. This situation was referred to the executive director of the Office of Government Ethics and to the administrator of the Retirement Systems on July 31, 2017, so that the corresponding actions would be taken.
The Municipality's Internal Audit Unit detected a possible misappropriation of $3,043 by a clerk of the Puerta del Este Municipal Parking Lot. However, the Municipality did not take collection actions against the dismissed employee; on the contrary, it paid him his payroll from September to November 2015 ($1,032) and the Christmas bonus ($769).
The audit reports that the Municipality settled for $120,000 a lawsuit from a pregnant woman who had held a transitory position for 21 months until its expiration. In addition, Manatí had 14 civil lawsuits totaling $2.3 million pending resolution by the Courts and had not recovered the $627,323 recommended in Audit Reports M-12-29 of 2012 and M-15-10 of 2015.
The Report covers the period from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2016.
See Audit Report M-18-23
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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