The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Jayuya. A qualified opinion is issued when the individual or combined noncompliances are significant, but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Municipality acquired a hot-air balloon for $1,300,000 for the Agrotourism Project, without obtaining quotes from at least two suppliers from outside Puerto Rico, and without documenting the efforts made to obtain the quotes. The total cost of the Project, which included the installation of the hot-air balloon, totaled $5,485,179.
The mayor indicated that no product similar to the one offered by the contracted foreign company was found, that it had the support of a consulting engineer, and that during the purchasing process he visited the IAAPA fair in Florida.
From the evaluation carried out, the Comptroller's auditors identified another company that provides similar equipment, that the engineer did not document the efforts made, and that the official and specific purpose of the trip to Florida in 2014 was to observe the operation of the hot-air balloon.
These situations, contrary to the regulations in force, are attributed to the fact that the mayor, the Finance director, and the Municipal Legislature did not look out for the public interest nor the best interests of the Municipality.
The seven-finding audit notes that the budget credits for the payment of contracts and amendments of the Agrotourism Project were not obligated until five months later, contrary to the Regulation for Municipal Administration of 2016. This situation prevents maintaining effective control of the budget appropriations and fosters overdrafts.
The Report reveals that the Municipality submitted, a year and a half after the work began, the construction permit application for the Project to the Permits Management Office. In addition, neither the contractor nor the Municipality provided evidence of having a public liability policy.
The signature on the 88 inspection reports presented in the invoices by the contracted engineer corresponded to that of an employee of the engineer, not authorized to practice the profession of engineering or land surveying in Puerto Rico. In fact, the contracted engineer indicated that he did not sign the reports, but rather reviewed them. This situation caused engineering services to be rendered and paid for, contrary to Act 135-1967, Certification of Plans and Projects. In this regard, the Report recommends that the president of the College of Engineers and Land Surveyors of Puerto Rico evaluate and take the corresponding measures.
The audit reports that the documents related to the construction of the Agrotourism Project were disorganized and the Finance director did not maintain a record of the construction expenses of the project. In fact, the then-director of Public Works could not provide the detail of the construction value of the works of the hot-air balloon nor of the Project's restaurant to the Comptroller's auditors.
The Municipality of Jayuya submitted to the Office of the Comptroller, up to four months later, 15% of the contracts and amendments examined from 2016 to 2019. This situation prevented the contracts from being accessible to citizens as public documents within the required time.
The Report mentions that the documents administrator had not prepared the inventories nor the document retention plans to be sent to the General Archive of Puerto Rico from 2015 to 2018.
The audit comments that Jayuya had five civil lawsuits for damages pending resolution in the amount of $1,985,000, as of June 30, 2019
The Jayuya Report covers the period from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019.
See the Audit Report M-21-39.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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