Monroe County Airport Authority – Board Oversight of County Chargebacks and Professional Services (2019M-226)

Issued Date
November 24, 2021

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Monroe County Airport Authority (Authority) Board (Board) provided adequate oversight over chargebacks for Monroe County (County) services and the procurement of professional services.

Key Findings

The Board did not provide adequate oversight, as it did not review, verify and approve County chargebacks prior to payment or actively oversee the procurement of professional services. As a result:

  • The Authority did not require and review detailed support for County chargebacks and paid $128,603 for non-Authority costs in 2018.
  • The Board did not adopt clear professional service procurement policies.
  • The Board could not support that professional service contracts were properly awarded because the Authority did not document or retain sufficient evidence that criteria were fairly evaluated.

Key Recommendations

  • Request and review adequate supporting documentation from County department staff for all chargebacks for County services prior to approving payment.
  • Develop a revised procurement policy that includes clear and direct guidance for awarding professional service contracts and documenting vendor selection decisions.

Authority officials generally disagreed with our findings and recommendations. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the Authority’s response (Appendix A).