HERKIMER — Herkimer County Community College officials said they will meet the recommendations made by the state Comptroller’s Office following an audit on its competitive methods when procuring goods and services.
Listed under the key findings of the audit, the comptroller’s office said the college’s purchasing policy is “outdated and inconsistent” and isn’t communicated to all staff involved with the purchase.
The audit also found that the college’s “purchasing policy and procedures do not address the solicitation of competition for professional services of competition for professional services and insurance,” and that “the college purchased goods and services totaling $474,514 and professional services totaling $702,016 without seeking competition.”
The audit report states that when competitive bidding requirements aren’t adhered to, “the college cannot be certain goods and services were obtained at the lowest reasonable price.”
Recommendations for the college include reviewing and updating its purchasing policy and procedures “to ensure they are consistent, and provide detailed guidance for procuring professional services and insurance.” The comptroller’s office also said that the purchasing policies and procedures should be “distributed to all staff involved in the purchasing process.”
Another recommendation was for the college to “use competitive methods when procuring goods and services in accordance with General Municipal Law and the college’s purchasing policy and procedures.” An explanation on how a college should procure goods and services according to the state General Municipal Law was included with the audit.
The audit also contained a Nov. 21 letter from college President Cathleen McColgin in response to the report’s findings, which included some “clarifications.” The letter stated that “While the college does not dispute any of the findings of your office, it would be remiss in not providing clarification on a couple of details contained in the Report of Examination.”
McColgin said when the college employed janitorial services for $47,147, it was due to an “immediate need” for services during a “severe staff shortage” and there wasn’t time for a competitive bid process. She said that two originally showed interest but that one eventually declined “due to the temporary nature of the project.”
McColgin also addressed two purchases that totaled $223,132 for bookstore renovations and parking lot paving repairs — which the audit said “lacked sufficient evidence they were competitively bid.” She stated that $167,102 of the amount “was funded by a capital project through the State University Construction Fund with matching funds by the private retailer that manages the college’s bookstore.”
College officials said they will make improvements to their procedures based on the recommendations made through the audit.
“We will comply with what they are saying,” said Nicholas Laino, college senior vice president for administration and finance, during an interview Monday. “… We will make things in compliance.”
Officials said a new purchasing agent was hired in December 2018, following the retirement of another individual who had long held the position.
“There’s always going to be a learning curve when filling a spot that has been held for a number of years,” said Laino, adding the college has a “really good fiscal team,” but will work on making the recommended improvements.
“If there is a way we can make something better, we’ll do it,” he said.
The college employs about 250 people with approximately 2,050 students enrolled on a full-time basis. The period that was audited was from Sept. 1, 2017 to April 30, 2019.
