2024-02-12 09:00:00
Through a letter, the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF) requested documentation from the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (ACT) on the use of funds from the Puerto Rico Authority after failing to comply with the agreements of the Second Revised Budget (FY2024).
The budget, which was certified on December 8, 2023, in section VII refers to the funds transferred to the ACT, in accordance with the agency’s Plan of Adjustment (PoA) and released by the Bank of New York Mellon (BONY)
These funds were transferred to the ACT “after the redemption of its outstanding debt on December 14, 2023, in accordance with the Concession Agreement between the ACT and Puerto Rico TollRoads LLC (transaction P3).
The section provides that ACT “shall notify the Oversight Board in writing within ten (10) days after specific funds are made available to ACT, along with a proposed plan for their possible uses. In addition, Section VII requires written authorization from the Oversight Board before any expenditure or use of such funds.
The Board requested the following information from the director of the ACT, Dr. Edwin González Montalvo.
Amount of funds released:
ACT must provide written confirmation of the final amounts that were transferred from BONY’s PoA accounts following debt redemption. This includes details on fees charged by custodian entities.
Likewise, they must detail how the funds were segregated to “comply with the provisions of the Second Revised Budget of the ACT for the fiscal year.
Use of Funds:
The ACT must present a breakdown of expenses already incurred and covered with the Action Program Funds, details of current or future expenses, an updated balance and a monthly report specifying the income and interest generated in each of the PoA accounts.
In the letter, the Board recognizes that the AcT complied with “some other obligations of the Second Revised Budget. However, they emphasized that the ACT “failed to provide the notice and proposed plan for potential uses, as required in Section VII.”
“The Oversight Board requested follow-up information under section VI (including confirmation of the amount of funds resulting from P3 transactions, and if applicable, used to replenish the account for emergencies and unforeseen events) and section VII. In response, HTA informed the Oversight Board that, to maximize interest income, funds made available to HTA pursuant to Sections VI and VII were transferred to the same account used to deposit the proceeds of the transaction P3. “While the Oversight Board supports the justification for depositing the funds in said account, the HTA’s response did not meet the requirements established in Section VII of the Second Revised HTA Budget for Fiscal Year 2024,” reads the letter.
“As noted in the ACT Cash Balance Report of December 29, 2023, presented to the Oversight Board on January 12, 2024, approximately $101,439,456 under the Action Program Accounts was made available to ACT. ACT subsequently confirmed that these Action Program Funds are being used for various purposes, including maintaining ACT’s liquidity and covering toll optimization expenses. These expenditures and uses were made, and continue to be made, without the prior written authorization of the Oversight Board, as required in Section VII of the Second Revised ACT Budget for Fiscal Year 2024,” they said.
1707745371
#Board #warns #Highway #Transportation #Authority #noncompliance #Metro #Puerto #Rico