Issued Date
August 05, 2022
Audit Objective
Determine whether the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District (District) Board of Education (Board) and District officials properly managed capital project (Project) change orders.
Key Findings
The Board and District officials did not properly manage Project change orders. The Board and District officials did not:
- Aggregate 31 change orders, totaling over $860,000 that were for the same or similar types of material or service. As a result, we question whether the change orders may have been split to avoid having to seek competitive bids for the additional work.
- Properly approve 296 change orders totaling $3.8 million.
- Comply with the District’s procurement policies and regulations. Competitive pricing was not obtained for 199 change orders, totaling over $3.5 million.
Because District officials did not always comply with New York State General Municipal Law (GML) and the District’s procurement policies and regulations, or properly review and approve change orders, they cannot demonstrate that taxpayer dollars were expended in the most prudent and economical manner.
Key Recommendations
- Carefully evaluate change orders, to ensure they are appropriately aggregated to determine whether it is necessary to obtain Board approval or use competitive bidding or quotes.
- Include a list of other desired items as alternates in original project plans and bid specifications.
- Solicit competition using bids, request for proposals or quotes as required.
District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and plan to initiate corrective action.