The University of Connecticut was cited several times in a state auditor’s report for problems in its bid process and contract related to construction projects.
The recently released report concerns the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years. The state Auditors of Public Accounts made 15 recommendations, of which nine were directly related to construction projects.
One example was the university’s selection of a firm to design and construct the university’s central cogeneration facility in 2002. The university chose Select Energy Services, Inc., despite its proposal being $7 million greater than the lowest bid, a decision the auditors questioned.
In response, the university said it felt it had chosen a qualified firm. Since that time, however, amendments to the UConn 2000 building project have eliminated the university’s ability to engage in design build contract. Furthermore, the university’s policies have been modified to require its chief financial and chief operating officers to approve any contract that is not awarded to the lowest bidder.
Other concerns voiced by the auditors included a failure by UConn to change a subcontractor during a project in a transparent manner and instances where certain construction contracts were awarded after being restricted to less than the traditional three-bid minimum. There was also an instance where UConn failed to seek competitive bids or proposal for the administration of its Owner Controlled Insurance Program, valued at more than $300,000, and several examples of UConn 2000 projects exceeding authorized amounts.
UConn officials said that many changes and amendments to the university’s policies regarding bids and contracts have been made. Many of those changes were made in 2006 as a result of problems stemming from the UConn 2000 project that had reached the point that Gov. Jodi Rell appointed a special commission to investigate it.
The auditors also found that UConn had paid a former athletic director $130,000 for unused vacation after his departure but that the athletic director owed UConn $100,000 at the time. UConn said it had an agreement to allow the $100,000 to be paid in installments, concluding in June, but that employees that leave in the future with liability will be noted if they are owed pay.
Lastly, it was discovered that UConn sold a 5.29 acre piece of land in Mansfield to a former provost for $90,000, or about $38,000 less than market value. That issue has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s office to determine if UConn needed approval from the Secretary of the Office of Policy Management and the State Properties Review Board to sell real property.
