The Office of 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 instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the financial statements of Jayuya from 2017 to 2019 did not include the position of the Municipal Agrotourism Enterprise of the Tierra Alta (EMATTA). These statements had reflected an adverse opinion for EMATTA's activities from 2017 to 2018 and a qualified opinion in 2019.
In addition, the executive directors of the Economic Development Enterprise of the Tierra Alta (EDDETA), which administers EMATTA's operations, did not prepare the operational budgets from 2018 to 2020; a fact that led to an imbalance between revenues and expenses. The EDDETA Board also did not discuss the financial statements of the municipal enterprises in any of the 42 meetings held from 2017 to 2019. The financial statements issued by a CPA between 2018 and 2019 were not discussed by the Board until up to two years after their publication.
The six-finding audit notes that the collaborative agreements, between the Municipality and EMATTA, for $30,000 in 2017 and $40,000 in 2018, were not submitted to the Office of the Comptroller as established by the law and regulations in force. In addition, the first aforementioned agreement and another formalized in 2019 for the lease of nine municipal vehicles for $1,800 monthly were also not presented to the consideration of the Municipal Legislature.
The auditors found multiple deficiencies with the acquisition of goods and services. For example, from the examination of a sample of the 33,870 disbursement vouchers for $77,963,139, it was identified that in 25%, they were not acquired with at least three quotes from representative providers of the market. In addition, the quotes obtained for the purchase in particular of a sound system did not record the name, title, or signature of the official who requested and awarded the purchase. This type of situation fosters the commission of irregularities in the disbursements.
Contrary to what was established in five ordinances authorizing the acquisition of equipment and vehicles up to the amount of $950,000, the Municipality disbursed $399,682 in excess of what was authorized. In addition, the heavy vehicles acquired did not have the minimum required warranties of three months or 3,000 miles, for purchases outside of Puerto Rico.
The Report reveals that one of the 41 vehicles acquired, a Mercedes Benz, had never been used, had no license plate, and was not labeled. The director of Public Works did not comply with his duty to ensure that the required repairs were made to the vehicle and that it be labeled. In fact, as of December 31, 2019, the mayor kept the director of Public Works in an interim position since 2017 and had not submitted his appointment to the Municipal Legislature, contrary to the Municipal Code, which establishes a limit of 120 days for an interim appointment.
This second and final report on Jayuya covers the period from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019.
See Audit Report M-22-30.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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