The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Adjuntas. A qualified opinion is issued when the individual or aggregate noncompliances are significant, but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that Adjuntas executed two contracts and one amendment for $318,850 with a consulting company to perform tasks that are proper to career positions. This situation resulted in the disbursement, from July 1, 2016 to May 8, 2018, of funds at a higher cost for tasks equivalent to those performed by an accountant II, an official and auxiliary collector, and an administrative officer of Finance.
In addition, the invoices and reports submitted by the consulting company did not contain the detail of the work performed, contrary to the contract clauses and to Act 237-2004 to Establish Uniform Parameters in Contracting Processes. This situation made it impossible to verify the accuracy and propriety of the disbursements.
The five-finding audit notes that the Municipality collected $11,338,568 without having a person appointed as official collector since February 13, 2017. The administrative officer who collected license fees, permits and fines, as well as the employees who made the collections at the El Castillo del Niño recreational facilities, also did not have written authorization to perform such functions.
The Comptroller's auditors found that as of June 30, 2019, the Municipality maintained 199 accounts for $775,992, more than 12 years old, receivable in municipal license fees. In addition, the accounting adjustments had not been made in the books and fiscal reports for the explained differences, which fluctuated between $10 and $1,262. These situations prevent the Municipality from maintaining up-to-date and reliable information on its financial situation.
Contrary to the Regulation for Municipal Administration of 2016, the Report of the Director of Finance or Municipal Auditor reflected 62 special funds with economic resources of $3,765,111 that had remained inactive for up to 13 years. Of these, $1,951,183 were from legislative appropriations. A similar situation had been commented on in Audit Report M-18-21 of April 13, 2018.
The Report comments that in Adjuntas a state of fiscal emergency was decreed to stabilize municipal finances and revenues on May 10, 2017. To that effect, the monthly salary of the mayor and the confidential personnel was reduced by 7.5%, the budget appropriation for the patron saint festivities was reduced by 50%, and the workday of career employees and Municipal Police officers was reduced to 25 hours per week, among other measures.
As of June 30, 2019, four civil lawsuits for $360,000 against the Municipality were pending resolution in the courts. Also pending resolution before the Public Service Appeals Commission was a case of a municipal employee.
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 Adjuntas covers the period from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019.
See Audit Report M-21-35.
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