The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Fajardo. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Municipality formalized a contract and 13 amendments for technical and engineering, design and supervision services for $264,094, with a corporation not authorized to practice engineering or to offer said services. Contrary to the current laws, the corporation was not constituted as a professional one. This situation was referred on August 29 to the president of the Association of Engineers and Land Surveyors of Puerto Rico so that it may take the corresponding actions. The Report also recommends that the Examining Board of Engineers and Land Surveyors evaluate the situation and take the corresponding measures.
The audit comments that from 2012 to 2015 the Municipality entered into three contracts and 16 amendments for construction and permanent improvements for $5.8 million with a special partnership in which one of the partners pleaded guilty to the crime of bribery in 2013. Although the guilty person ceded his participation to a trust, of which he was a trustee, he maintained an interest in the profits generated by the special partnership. On May 8 the Municipality requested an opinion from the Department of Justice on whether it is appropriate to require the special partnership to return the money for the work performed after the guilty plea of the managing partner.
The five-finding Report points out that the Municipality paid $58,216 for some additional improvement work on the Coliseum without formalizing a written contract with the supplier. In addition, the examination revealed that the suppliers' quotes -for the acquisition and installation of an elevator at the Police Headquarters- did not contain the name, title, or signature of the official or employee of the Municipality who received and accepted them. A similar situation regarding these necessary controls had already been commented on in Audit Report M-15-31 of May 14, 2015.
Our auditors identified that the Municipality submitted to the Registry of Contracts of the Comptroller's Office 151 contracts and 134 amendments up to four months later than provided by the current law and regulations. In addition, deficiencies were detected in the regulations related to the negotiation and direct contracting of the Municipality's insurance, and the lack of internal controls with the files of the vehicles and the heavy equipment.
The Report covers the period from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2017.
See Audit Report M-19-13.
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