Press Releases

The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Utuado related to the construction of permanent works and improvements. 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 accepted a false quote in the process of awarding a project for the repair and maintenance of 11 schools. The contract was awarded to a company for $150,000. This situation, contrary to Act 81-1991 on Autonomous Municipalities, was referred to the Department of Justice on August 3 so that it may take the corresponding actions.

The owner of the company of the false quote told our auditors that he had not prepared said quote, that the signature was not his and that it did not have the corporation's seal. In addition, he pointed out that he had indeed prepared a quote, but for a lower amount at the request of the awarded company, and that the latter had hired him to be the project's administrator.

The one-finding audit reports that before awarding the project, the Municipality had entered into an agreement with the Office for the Improvement of Public Schools (OMEP) for $160,000 in May 2013. Even though the Municipality paid the contractor $150,000 for the repair work, the Municipality billed OMEP $160,000, that is, $10,000 in excess for additional expenses not contemplated in the agreement with OMEP.

The Report comments that for 2014-15, the Municipality had an accumulated deficit of almost $2 million in the Operational Fund. Operating with a deficit is harmful since it reduces the available resources. A similar situation had been commented on in Audit Report M-16-24 of April 14, 2016.

This is the third and final report of Utuado and covers the period from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2015. The three reports are available at www.ocpr.gov.pr.

See Audit Report M-19-14.

To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.