March 17, 1998

Contact: Sharon Adams, (713) 247-3152

(Houston, Texas) The City Controller’s Office, along with the accounting firm of Mir Fox & Rodriguez, P. C., has recently completed nine audits of the Greater Houston Wastewaster Program.

The audits have raised serious concerns about the quality of construction work and the quality of specific engineering testing services. In many cases auditors found insufficient documentation to determine whether the testing was actually completed. The lack of adequate record keeping raises serious concerns about contract compliance and about the safety of various Public Works Wastewater Improvement projects.

City Controller Sylvia R. Garcia says the audits raise a ‘red flag’ about contract compliance in the Greater Houston Wastewater Program. “In some cases the audit trail we’ve uncovered is so tangled it resembles a bowl of spaghetti. We’re trying to unravel the strands and get some straight answers,” said Garcia.

Based on the results of the audits, the Office of Inspector General has been asked to further review the discrepancies in accounting and record keeping. Mir Fox & Rodriguez, P. C., is also expanding the scope of its review and looking at 45 additional engineering testing service contracts.

The City Controller’s office will continue to work with the Office of Inspector General and the Public Works and Engineering Department to identify appropriate internal controls and to make sure current and future wastewater projects be completed according the the City’s policies and procedures and state law.

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