The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Ports Commission of Mayagüez. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
From the examination of the six audit objectives, five of the objectives regarding the privatization process of the Port of Mayagüez and compliance with Resolution 33 and the Collaboration Agreement, both of 2014 between the Commission and the Municipality, were met.
The Report reveals that the Board of Commissioners authorized improper payments of $9,000 to the administrative secretary from 2019 to 2021. The administrative secretary was an employee of the Municipality of Mayagüez, so additional pay or extraordinary compensation does not apply to her under the Political Code of Puerto Rico.
The Report recommends, among other things, repealing the resolution approved in 2019, which authorizes a fixed monthly expense reimbursement of $300 to the administrative secretary. In addition, the Commission must evaluate the possibility of an action to recover the $9,000 or any subsequent amount on account of fixed expense reimbursement.
The two-finding audit also points out that the Commission submitted to the Office of the Comptroller, up to 15 months late, the annual certifications under Act 273-2003 for fiscal years 2017 and 2018. Act 273-2003, Act of Contractual Standards on Independence in the Audits of Governmental Entities, empowers the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico to issue the guidelines for governmental entities to comply with the provisions of this Act.
The Report comments that the Commission had accumulated deficits, from 2017 to 2021, as reflected in the audited financial statements. Operating with a deficit in a given fiscal year is detrimental since it may become unable to meet the commitments and obligations incurred. A similar situation had been published in Audit Report M-19-07 of 2018.
In addition, as of May 25, 2022, the Commission had not recovered $101,637 improperly paid to two corporations for services through retroactive amendments to the contracts granted, as indicated in Audit Report M-20-04 of 2019. This Report on the Ports Commission of Mayagüez covers the period from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2021.
See Audit Report M-23-29.
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