MTA SPENT $55,000 TOO MUCH; AUDIT FINDS OFFICIALS SIGNED OFF ON OVERPAYMENT.Byline: Beth Barrett Daily News Staff Writer The MTA's inspector general has concluded the agency may have overpaid o·ver·pay v. o·ver·paid , o·ver·pay·ing, o·ver·pays v.tr. 1. To pay (a party) too much. 2. To pay an amount in excess of (a sum due). v.intr. To pay too much. a maintenance company more than $55,000 without objections from MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. officials who signed off on the invoices, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new audit released Friday. The company, Petra Building Maintenance of Irvine, was awarded an $84,104 contract for 17 months of janitorial service at six Metropolitan Transportation Authority customer service centers and an additional facility in September 1996, according to the audit. But auditors estimate the award should have been for only about $34,000, based on available paperwork and the statements of MTA officials. ``We didn't see anything in the paper that would have authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: additional work,'' said Michael Bravman, the MTA's deputy inspector general for audits. ``More importantly, the project manager said it wasn't authorized.'' Officials with Petra Building Maintenance could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. MTA officials said they are upset by the contract disclosure, which comes after more than 1-1/2 years of reform under Julian Burke The name Burke (from Irish Gaelic de Burca, of Norman origin). In English the meaning of the name Burke is "fortified hill." See also Berkley. Places Australia
Burke, in a written response to Inspector General Arthur Sinai, said: ``I find the absence of files and facts in this matter troubling, embarrassing and unacceptable.'' He said he has ordered that MTA procurement The fancy word for "purchasing." The procurement department within an organization manages all the major purchases. policies be strengthened. Bravman said the inspector general's office is generally satisfied with the MTA's response in tightening controls. Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor can refer to more than one person:
``Nobody can justify this, and we're not making any excuses,'' O'Connor said. ``We made a series of mistakes.'' O'Connor said the MTA, on the advice of its lawyers, probably can't seek credit from Petra because MTA officials signed off on invoices as they were submitted. The inspector general said a total credit of at least $55,775 should have been sought. ``If we had a problem with the value of what we were getting, we should have rejected some of the invoices, and we didn't,'' O'Connor said. O'Connor, who left Bay Area Rapid Transit “BART” redirects here. For other uses of "BART" or "Bart", see Bart. The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) is a heavy rail public rapid-transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. seven months ago to take over MTA's troubled procurement division, said the agency is in the process of reviewing up to 30,000 non-rail contracts to identify patterns that might indicate similar problems. So far, he said, only a handful of contracts have been flagged for further review or board action. Petra's contract was not renewed late last year, he said. |
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