Press Releases

The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Aguada. A qualified opinion is issued when noncompliances, individually or together, are significant but not pervasive.

The report reveals that the Bidding Board awarded the acquisition of diesel to a bidder that did not comply with the bid specifications. The bidder established in its proposal a profit margin based on the price reported by the wholesaler to the Department of Consumer Affairs, instead of based on the price paid to the wholesaler. This situation caused the Municipality to pay the provider $6,307 in excess.

In addition, the three pre-intervention officers in office who examined some 14 disbursement vouchers issued in 2019 did not ensure that the bidder's invoices included evidence of the cost of the diesel purchased from the wholesaler. This situation, contrary to the Regulation for Municipal Administration, prevented verification of the correctness and propriety of the disbursements.

The five-finding audit notes that, as of December 31, 2020, the Municipality owed $890,817 to the Department of Labor and Human Resources (DTRH), the Electric Power Authority, and the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority. This situation led to the payment of interest, penalties and surcharges of $14,996 on the debt to the DTRH and affects the resources of the government entities.

Contrary to current laws and regulations, the contract for the administration of the Jardines de Aguada housing complex, which the municipality owns, was not submitted for consideration to the Municipal Legislature or to the Office of the Comptroller. In addition, as of October 9, 2020, the Internal Audit Unit had not performed audits or monitoring of the operations of the housing complex. A similar situation had been noted in Audit Report M-19-19 of December 13, 2018.

The auditors identified deficiencies regarding the distribution of 5,541 general admission tickets and 161 season-ticket cards to attend basketball games. The Municipality had formalized two contracts with the superior basketball league for the free use of the Ismael “Chavalillo” Delgado Coliseum, in exchange for providing it with box seats and courtesy tickets. As of July 27, 2020, the former mayor certified that they did not have a record of the distribution of the tickets.

As of March 12, 2018, the illegal appropriation of a four track vehicle from the Municipal Public Works shop, valued at $1,050, was reported. The Municipality did not conduct an administrative investigation, nor did it file a claim with the insurance company. In addition, it notified the irregularity to the Office of the Comptroller seven months later, and as of December 4, 2020, the vehicle remained registered in the Fixed Assets module of the accounting system.

The audit publishes a special comment on the resolution of March 31, 2021 issued by the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor (PFEI), which establishes the nullity of a contract and an amendment granted by the Municipality. On December 4, 2018, the Municipality had awarded a contract through bidding to an unqualified contractor for $3,000,000 and an amendment without bidding and in clear violation of current laws and regulations, for $4,000,000. The contractor had certified under oath that it had two years of experience in operating logistics for disaster recovery, which was false.

On April 19, 2021 the mayor requested advice on how to proceed with the pending payments to the contractor from the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of Municipal Management informed the mayor of Aguada that it would abstain from issuing a recommendation since the controversy is referred to the Secretary of Justice, the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico.

This first report of Aguada covers the period from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020.

See Audit Report M-22-24.

To view other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.