Audit Objective
Determine if Town of Hempstead (Town) officials used competitive methods when procuring professional services and purchases subject to competitive bidding.
Key Findings
Officials did not always seek competition for professional services and ensure bid specifications were met. Officials paid:
- Eleven professional service providers $4 million without seeking competition.
- Five subcontractors for work totaling $9.3 million without the required written preapprovals.
- A vendor $12,382 more for tires than prices bid.
Had Town policies been adhered to, competition would have been sought, approvals likely would have been obtained and the overpayment could have been avoided.
Key Recommendations
Officials should:
l Seek competition when procuring professional services and enter into written agreements with all individuals and firms that provide these services to the Town and ensure that prices paid for services and purchases are in accordance with written agreements and prices bid by the vendor.
Except as mentioned in Appendix A, officials generally agreed with our recommendations. Appendix B includes our comments on the officials’ response.