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Comptroller of Puerto Rico reveals excess payments of $176 thousand to a company that operates the traffic fine system in Moca

The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Moca. A qualified opinion is issued when the breaches individually or collectively are significant, but not pervasive.

The Report reveals that the Municipality of Moca paid $176,322 in excess to the company contracted to administer the system for issuing and collecting fines issued by the Municipal Police. The contracts formalized on September 14, 2016 and October 15, 2021 established that the company would receive as a benefit a tiered payment of up to 45% on a contingent basis of the fines collected. The Municipalities Act of 1991 and the Municipal Code of 2020 empower the Municipality to grant this type of contingent contract when it does not have the expertise or the necessary resources to perform these services, and the compensation is subject to what is collected, which may never be greater than 10%.

As of June 20, 2024, the Municipality had paid the company $226,713, which represents an excess of 10% equivalent to $176,322. The Report recommends the recovery of this amount from the contractor.

The Report, of five findings, notes that the Municipality requested and received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, for its acronym in English), a reimbursement of $6,636 in excess of what was paid for a heavy equipment rental contract to collect the debris caused by Tropical Storm Fiona. This situation affects the Municipality's reputation and the perception of transparency and good management of public funds.

The auditors identified that the computations made by the then director of Human Resources for the payment of the settlements of the accumulated leave of 106 officials and employees upon ceasing in their positions were incorrect. The Municipality had availed itself of certain provisions of the Fiscal Plan Compliance Act of 2017; however, they did not use the corresponding formulas and calculated $5,540 too little for three former officials and three former employees, and $791 in excess for two former employees.

As of January 22, 2025, the Municipality of Moca had not updated the regulations for the administration of trust and career personnel, approved through Ordinance 9 of September 5, 2019. In particular, the use of maternity, paternity and adoption leave was not aligned with the laws approved.

The audit indicates that, as a result of the auditors' request for the lawsuits sent to the Department of Justice, the municipal secretary submitted them with delays of up to almost five years. From 2018 to 2024, 16 lawsuits totaling $2,069,047 million were filed before the courts by and against the Municipality. As of June 10, 2024, 13 lawsuits had been resolved.

The Civil Lawsuit Registry Act of 2003 provides that any civil claim whose amount exceeds $5,000 must appear in the registry maintained by the Department of Justice.

The Report comments that the Municipality had to pay $35,000 for the settlement of a civil lawsuit filed in 2020, for discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. For this settlement agreement the Municipality received no benefit in return. This situation was referred to the Office of Government Ethics on September 19, 2022 so that it takes the corresponding actions.

The Municipality paid a total differential of $7,900 to an employee who did not qualify to hold the position of director of Planning and Zoning on an interim basis. The Regulations and Permits inspector employee did not have a license as an engineer, architect, surveyor or planner, but rather an associate degree in civil engineering. The then mayor and the Legislature amended, on November 15, 2023, the academic preparation requirements of the position so that the interim employee could hold it permanently.

The Moca audit also comments that the Office of the Electoral Comptroller imposed an administrative fine of $5,000 against the political campaign committee of former mayor Ángel Pérez Rodríguez. The former mayor is charged with having used a page of the Municipality on social media to conduct a political campaign during the primary and reelection process. The case is, as of June 12, 2025, before the consideration of the Office of the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor.

The General Fund budget was $10.2 million in 2020, $10 million in 2021, $9.3 million in 2022, $10 million in 2023, and $10.2 million in 2024.

The audit recommends to the director of the Office of Management and Budget that he ensure that the Municipality of Moca complies with the Corrective Action Plan established by the OCPR.

This second and final Report of Moca covers the period from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2024

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The Audit Report OC-26-10 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.