The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Vega Baja. A qualified opinion is issued when the individual or combined noncompliances are significant, but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the licensed engineer, director of the Office of Project Management and Engineering of the Municipality, did not carry out periodic inspections of the construction and structure repair projects. For the audited period, the Municipality granted 99 contracts for $3,982,461. Instead, the engineer delegated the inspection visits to two officials (project monitors) of the Office.
This situation could have been detrimental to the quality of the services received and caused persons not authorized to practice the profession of engineer to provide services. The Report recommends that the presidents of the Examining Board and of the College of Engineers and Land Surveyors of Puerto Rico consider the indicated situations and take the corresponding measures.
The three-finding audit notes that the bid for the remodeling of the School of Fine Arts and Electronic Library was awarded without having sufficient funds to obligate the budget credit to make the payments to the contractor. In addition, the directors of Management, Administration, and Budget did not obligate the credits necessary for the payment of six contracts and 11 amendments for $4,279,407 until five months after they were granted. A similar situation had been commented on in the Audit Report M-16-03 of July 13, 2015.
Contrary to the laws and regulations in force, the Municipality did not have written standards or procedures for the receipt, conservation, and disposal of documents. In addition, the auditors found that, in the areas designated for archiving active public documents, there were water leaks, no doors, nor ventilation or electricity, among other deficiencies. (see photos in Appendix 1 of the Report)
The Audit Report recommends that the director of the Office of Management and Budget ensure that the Municipality complies with the Corrective Action Plan established by the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico.
The Report covers the period from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.
See the Audit Report M-21-37.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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