State finds problems with Quincy projects

QUINCY — The state auditor’s office recommended improvements for how Quincy handles public works projects.

The city received a letter from the state auditor, claiming the city did not follow state law on three projects, including improvements at several parks and the 2007 street overlay project. The letter came as part of the state’s audit of the city, covering 2008.

The first problem the auditor cites was the installation of bathrooms, tennis courts and lights at Lauzier Park last year. The city received two quotes from the small works roster for $234,359. The state requires the city to go through a formal bidding process for any project more than $200,000.

“The city did not estimate the cost of park improvements to ensure bid procedures are followed,” the auditor stated. “The project should have been formally and competitively bid.”

Quincy Mayor Jim Hemberry said the issue rose from how the project was put together. Since individual pieces were added to the project, the city staff didn’t estimate the cost of the project correctly.

The auditor’s office also pointed to four playground stations installed in Lauzier, North, East and O Connell parks. The equipment cost the city $85,185 and the city did not go through the bidding process when it purchased the items, according to the auditor.

Hemberry said the recreation and arts commission assisted the city in selecting the toys.

“They were looking to get Big Toys, so they looked in the catalogue for the ones they wanted. That’s not the way it should have been done,” he said.

The final issue was the city did not pay the wages for the city’s 2007 street overlay project before the money was released at the end of the contract.

Hemberry said the city is dealing with those issues by creating a set of administrative policies for the staff, so there are written guidelines for issues such as contract procedures. This allows staff to have a procedure, preventing these problems in the future.

“We really don’t have anything like that now … It’s going to be more encompassing than for the issue of contracts,” he said. “We should be able to put enough safeguards in place to make sure we don’t do this in the future.”

The process of putting the policies together starts with a meeting with the city’s engineers, Hemberry said. Once the “nuts and bolts” are in place, he expects it should be about a month before the policies are finalized.

“I commend our staff for doing the job they did,” he said, pointing to the amount of new staff members and projects the city had during 2008. “This was just a snapshot of what we did. When you look at all of the projects we did over the last coupe of years, this is a small amount.”