State auditor claims information was not available in Liquid Fuels audit for Upper Tyrone Township
A state auditor’s report showed that information wasn’t documented for Upper Tyrone Township for use of Liquid Fuels Tax money.
In an attestation engagement released this month by Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, the department stated that Upper Tyrone Township expended $14,871.60 in 2019 from the Liquid Fuels Tax Fund for the purchase of pipe in five different invoices ranging in cost from $130 to $4,877.
According to the report, the township was required to obtain three written or telephonic price quotations for that expenditure; however, the documentation for the price quotations was not available for examination by the auditor general’s office.
To be in compliance with the contract requirements of the Second Class Township Code, written or telephonic price quotations from at least three qualified and responsible contractors must be requested for all contracts between $10,000 and $18,500.
Those quotes, according to the code, should be made into a written record containing at least the date of the quote, the name of the contractor or its representative, the work that’s the subject of the quote and the price.
“The failure to comply with the Second Class Township Code could result in the township having to reimburse $14,871.60 to its Liquid Fuels Tax Fund,” the report stated, adding that the condition occurred because the township was not aware that the bid thresholds were cumulative.
“We did not realize that the township needed three phone quotes for supplies, as I thought it went by projects,” was the response from the township’s secretary/treasurer in the auditor’s report. “Since it was three unplanned projects, we did not receive quotes, not realizing it is added as a whole purchase, not separate projects.”
The recommendations made by the auditor’s department was for the township to reimburse the $14,871.60 to its Liquid Fuels Tax Fund upon official notification by the state Department of Transportation, and a further recommendation that, in the future, the township complies with the code as noted in the findings.
“During out next examination, we will determine if the municipality complied with our recommendations,” the report stated.
A call placed to the Upper Tyrone Township office was not returned as of press time.