Colleen DeGuzman
The Harris County Auditor’s Workplace mentioned it plans to conduct semi-annual audits of the county’s flood management district weeks after County Choose Lina Hidalgo mentioned a earlier audit revealed the district’s contracting course of allegedly put residents in hurt’s manner.
Hidalgo renewed requires reform within the county’s procurement course of once more this week and urged the county auditor’s workplace to implement semi-annual audits of county departments to make sure that contracts with Harris County are following the correct procurement course of for receiving contracts.
“I’ve already introduced that I’m not working for re-election, so in two years, I’m not going to be right here to name consideration to this,” she mentioned. “It’s actually essential that this be institutionalized.”
The Harris County Flood Management District, the Harris County Toll Street Authority, and the engineering division are the one county departments that independently make procurement choices on tasks over $50,000, apart from ones funded by federal {dollars}. The exemptions are made in an effort to expedite the contract course of for these departments. The Harris County Buying Agent is liable for managing that course of for all different departments and awarding contracts for skilled companies.
Hidalgo this week advised that every one county contracts ought to undergo the buying division in an effort to extend transparency within the procurement course of.
Earlier this month, she mentioned the flood management district allegedly did not implement a reformed procurement course of handed by commissioners. The audit additionally discovered that the flood management district and commissioner precincts allegedly did not particularly doc that people concerned within the vendor analysis course of don’t current a private or monetary battle of curiosity.
In response, the flood management district on Oct. 7 argued the latest audit covers a transition interval throughout which the flood management district was actively implementing reforms and updating its procedures. The district mentioned that every one findings had beforehand been resolved, and a extra clear coverage has been in place for over 5 months.
On Tuesday, Hidalgo referred to as the flood management district’s course of “particularly egregious,” pointing to latest revelations of a $410 million shortfall on dozens of post-Harvey flood tasks. The district has paused 26 teams of flood mitigation tasks following the main funding shortfall for 2018 flood bond tasks.
“If any division must have environment friendly and acceptable procurement, it’s that one, as a result of we want each greenback we will get our palms on,” Hidalgo mentioned. “My ask to residents is that is the time to show your eyes towards the problem as a result of you may make a distinction. You made a distinction final 12 months, so we want residents to speak about this.”
Hidalgo’s ongoing requires transparency within the contract course of come after commissioners final 12 months directed the flood management district, HCTRA and the county engineering division to implement written procedures for the way the entities choose distributors, keep course of paperwork, and require that county workers concerned within the procurement course of full battle of curiosity varieties.
That steering was prompted by an earlier 2023 audit that discovered points with the flood management district’s procurement course of which will have posed “undue threat to Harris County,” in accordance with county paperwork.
The 2023 audit discovered that the flood management district did not doc how skilled companies distributors are evaluated and chosen, “which means there isn’t a written file of why a specific vendor was decided to be the ‘most extremely certified’ vendor for a given contract,” in accordance with the paperwork.
Audits aren’t “one-size-fits-all”
In a press release to Houston Public Media, the auditor’s workplace mentioned it dedicated to performing follow-up procedures over the procurement technique of the flood management district in roughly six months.
“In accordance with our impartial oversight duties, the auditor’s workplace will conduct audits of the Harris County Flood Management District’s procurement processes on a semiannual foundation, or as deemed acceptable primarily based on future audit outcomes,” in accordance with the assertion.
The semi-annual audits will consider whether or not ample controls are in place and whether or not established procurement necessities are being adopted. The findings might be reported publicly, in accordance with the auditor’s workplace. The workplace repeatedly schedules audits utilizing a long-standing risk-based framework. Whereas some are required by statute and occur on a set cycle, others are performed on a periodic-basis on the request of elected officers or division leaders.
“A lot of our audits are primarily based on threat evaluation, which contemplate the chance that an excellent or situation may happen and the potential affect if it did,” in accordance with the workplace. “Outcomes of prior audits are one in all a number of inputs to these assessments, together with components equivalent to monetary publicity, adjustments in operation, or new regulatory necessities.”
Different county departments are audited primarily based on components like administration requests, prior outcomes and threat assessments. There’s not a one-size-fits-all cadence, in accordance with the workplace.
