This contains the results of the audit we conducted of the Municipality of Maricao to determine whether the fiscal operations were carried out in accordance with the applicable law and regulations.
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Maricao. A qualified opinion is issued when noncompliances, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the construction project of the Maricao Water Park never began to be built even though the Municipality paid $206,908 for the plans, the consultation permits and endorsements, and the surveying and topography services to an engineer contracted in 2012. Because the project did not have a construction permit and was halted, the engineering fees were not eligible for the federal funds of the Community Development Block Grant. For that reason, the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (OCAM) withheld the $206,908 of the 2016 Equitable Allocation for Maricao.
This situation caused the Municipality to pay for plans and engineering services that had no use. A similar situation had been commented on in the Audit Report M-04-28 of 2004. The Report recommends to the mayor that he ensure that the planning of construction projects and their feasibility are useful investments and of public interest before investing resources.
The audit notes that for the years 2014 to 2016, Maricao's deficit was $3.5, $2.6, and $2.5 million respectively of a budget of $6.1, $5.8, and $5.7 for that period.
Our auditors identified some 10 checks for $7,033 uncashed for periods longer than the six prescriptive months. These checks must be canceled six months after their issuance to avoid errors and irregularities with the Municipality's funds.
In addition, the Municipality kept funds of $4,198 in the bank accounts, inactive for up to more than three years. A similar situation had been indicated in the Audit Report M-15-35 of 2015.
The three-finding audit also comments that Maricao has a civil lawsuit for $88,135 pending resolution by the court and two fines of $60,000 that the Institute of Culture imposed on it for demolishing buildings of historical value without the permits. In addition, as of June 30, 2017, the Municipality had not recovered $28,150 that had been recommended to it in audit reports M-10-29 of 2009 and M-15-35 of 2015. The second and final report for Maricao covers the period from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2017.
See the Audit Report M-19-29.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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