The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Rincón. A qualified opinion is issued when the individual or aggregate noncompliances are significant, but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Municipality did not comply with sending the monthly payroll and positions reports to the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR), as provided by current legislation, until six months later. This situation deprives the Government, the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico and the citizens of up-to-date information on payroll expenses, occupied positions and vacancies. A similar situation had been commented on in Audit Report M-18-25 of 2018.
The three-finding audit notes that the internal auditor did not perform audits or present reports of the fiscal and operational activities of the Municipality from 2016 to 2017. The internal auditor departed from his duty and the mayor did not exercise adequate supervision over his functions.
In addition, from 2017 to 2018 the position of internal auditor was vacant, for which reason the Internal Audit Unit was inoperative. This situation, contrary to Act 81-1991 on Autonomous Municipalities, may encourage an environment for the commission of irregularities and deficiencies in the operations of the Municipality.
The Report reveals the loss of 12 property units of the Sports Complex Gymnasium (dumbbells, olympic plates and hex dumbbells), which were not reported to the Police of Puerto Rico or to the Office of the Comptroller. In addition, the Municipality did not investigate 19 automobile accidents to establish the corresponding responsibilities for the negligence or carelessness of the employees in the use of public property; on the contrary, it accepted the responsibility of the claims that amounted to $21,651. Of the 19 accidents, only nine were reported to the OCPR.
The audit also comments that the Municipality paid $120,000 to a former employee who sued the Municipality for being dismissed while receiving the benefits of medical treatment at the State Insurance Fund Corporation. This situation caused the disbursement of public funds without receiving any benefit in return.
As of December 31, 2018, the Municipality of Rincón had 55 of its 74 employees appointed to transitory positions for periods of up to 17 years. The law establishes that such appointments cannot exceed one year except for exceptions. A similar situation was commented on in Audit Report M-18-25.
A report on compliance with the training offered by the Office of Administration and Transformation of Human Resources of the Government of Puerto Rico evidenced that the director of Human Resources and the director of Finance and Budget did not comply with the requirement to take annual courses. The Municipality also did not present evidence on compliance with the training of the officials of these positions as provided by Act 81-1991.
The Municipality had three civil lawsuits for damages pending resolution for $580,000 as of June 30, 2019. In addition, it has not addressed the recovery recommendations for $88,567 corresponding to audit reports M-15-19 of 2015, M-15-36 of 2015 and M-18-25 of 2018.
The Audit Report recommends to the director of the Office of Management and Budget that he ensure that the Municipality complies with the Corrective Action Plan established by the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico.
This first report on Rincón covers the period from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018, and is available at www.ocpr.gov.pr.
See Audit Report M-21-31.
To view other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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