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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town of Corning (Town) officials used a competitive process to procure goods and services.

Key Findings

Town officials did not always seek competition, as required, when purchasing goods or obtaining professional services.

• Of the purchases totaling $455,792 from 35 vendors and 10 professional service providers we examined, Town officials purchased goods and services totaling $299,046 from 21 vendors and nine providers without using competitive methods. Officials also did not enter into a contract with any of the 10 providers.
• A one year mowing contract was awarded for $26,000 to a company owned by a Board member’s sons even though the company was not the lowest bidder. The Board also extended the contract for another five years without seeking competition. Although the Board was required to document its rationale for awarding the contract to a higher bidder, they did not do so.

Key Recommendations

• Obtain the required number of quotes or proposals for purchases, when required, and preserve this documentation.
• Revise the procurement policy to provide a detailed method for procuring professional services.

Town officials agreed with the recommendations except the lack of documentation for not accepting the lowest bidder for the mowing contract. Appendix B includes our comment on the issue raised in the Town’s response letter.