The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of Barceloneta. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, is significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Municipality did not hold a public bid for permanent improvement projects for the Head Start Program. Contrary to the law and regulations in effect, quotations were requested from specific suppliers and the works were fractioned into 40 contracts and 14 amendments that totaled $4,113,270.
The seven-finding audit notes that the Municipality did not obtain the permits from the Permit Management Office (OGPe) in 47 demolitions, 35 uses, 34 environmental permits, and 7 constructions. In addition, in 45 of the 53 projects evaluated for $4,332,213, they obtained the construction permit up to five years after the contract was awarded, and did not formalize contracts for the construction of gazebos, fences, and roof sealing of 18 Head Start centers.
These situations impede free competition among bidders, do not allow the OGPe to exercise its oversight function, and do not protect the Municipality's interests in the event of noncompliance by the supplier.
Contrary to Act 81-1991 on Autonomous Municipalities, nine municipal employees were transferred to the Municipal Enterprise Barceloneta BBQ Chicken on assignment, without changing their status and condition to that of private employees. In addition, one of the assigned employees was promoted to a position of a municipal nature for which she improperly received $16,100. The Municipality did not obtain the reimbursement of the salary of the assigned chef of $37,893, as established in the collaboration agreements, and eliminated the $11,440 debt from the accounting books without the approval of the Municipal Legislature. The Municipality's Internal Audit Unit also did not conduct audits or monitoring of the operations of the BBQ Chicken Enterprise.
The Comptroller's auditors identified the appointment of a person who had been convicted, without having been authorized by the Office of Authorization for Public Service pursuant to Act 184-2004, for the Administration of Human Resources in Public Service, as amended. This situation was referred to the Department of Labor and Human Resources on July 19, 2019, which concluded that the Municipality had failed to comply with labor legislation. In this regard, the Municipality had to return $11,932 for the employee's salaries to the Bureau for the Promotion of Work Opportunities.
The Report indicates that Barceloneta registered and submitted copies of 156 contracts and 65 amendments for $6,853,973 to the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) up to four months later. In addition, for the audited period, they sent the Payroll Report up to 83 days later, and the Annual Report on the Status of Privatizations 53 days later to the OCPR. These situations, contrary to the regulations in effect, deprive the Government and citizens of updated and accessible information in the capacity of public documents.
The audit comments that the Municipality disbursed $140,000 without receiving any benefit, due to the payments of transactional agreements for lawsuits in the courts: $130,000 to an employee for political discrimination and $10,000 to an employee for wrongful dismissal. In addition, as of February 28, 2019, it owed $1,439,993 to the Administration of the Retirement Systems of the Government Employees and the Judiciary. This amount includes $49,844 for interest. A similar situation had been commented on in Audit Report M-16-32 of 2016.
This second and final report of Barceloneta covers the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2019.
See Audit Report M-22-16.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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