"County vows action for Fort Lauderdale airport overbilling"

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

County vows action for airport overbilling
Federal investigators have received a county audit that details
overcharges and altered time cards by a company that oversees testing at
airport projects.
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD
The Miami (FL) Herald


Commissioners on Tuesday vowed to take a hard look at how the county
oversees airport contracts, after reviewing an audit showing that a
company overcharged Broward County nearly a quarter million dollars for
testing the concrete in a new parking garage.

Broward County Administrator Roger Desjarlais pledged Tuesday to find a
way to determine whether contractors are billing the county for
uncompleted work at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

''We've had such a successful construction program at the airport. .
.this kind of flaw is embarrassing,'' Desjarlais said.

The audit found $248,467 in billing irregularities, and Desjarlais vowed
to find any other fraudulent billing. He said he would report to
commissioners within the next 60 days on how to detect such problems.
But he also warned commissioners that the county's intensive auditing
might find additional billing problems before he develops a more
comprehensive fix.

The recent audit, based on whistle-blower complaints filed in 2003,
found that Qore Property Sciences overbilled the county by altering
employee time cards. The company was responsible for testing concrete at
airport projects.

Because the contract involved federal aviation grants, the audit was
turned over to investigators with the U.S. Attorney's Office, said
Broward County Auditor Evan Lukic.

That left county commissioners fuming.

''It's pretty clear there was some fraudulent billing to the county,''
said County Commissioner John Rodstrom.

There may be further billing errors, Lukic said. The county hasn't been
able to examine 2002 time sheets because Qore reported them stolen.

Company officials said in a letter to the county that they did a
self-audit and have agreed to pay back $95,072. But the remaining
$153,395 remains in dispute, and Qore executives say they acted in
accordance with industry practices and their contract with the county.

Lukic's audit also found that the county's Aviation Department and URS
Corp. -- the private company overseeing multiple construction projects
at the airport -- overlooked some billing discrepancies because they
didn't have adequate procedures for reviewing invoices.


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