A Performance Audit
An Audit Report on Facilities Management at the Texas Military Department
August 2022
Summary Analysis
The Texas Military Department (Department) developed Facilities Master Plans (FMPs) for fiscal years 2019-2023 and fiscal years 2021-2025 in its biennial Strategic Plans, as required by Rider 16, page V-44, the General Appropriations Act (85th Legislature) and Rider 16, page V-43, the General Appropriations Act (86th Legislature). However, the Department did not ensure that funds appropriated for capital construction were spent on projects included in the FMPs.
The Department monitored capital projects in its FMPs in accordance with requirements by conducting inspections and reviews of projects during their construction phase and by ensuring that projects’ change orders were properly supported and approved. However, the Department should (1) consistently perform required reviews during the design phase of projects, (2) accurately track project expenditures, and (3) appropriately limit access to its project tracking spreadsheets.
The Department fully implemented corrective action for 8 (73 percent) of 11 recommendations related to contracting made by the State Auditor’s Office in Chapter 1 of An Audit Report on Financial Processes at the Military Department (SAO Report No. 18-010, December 2017). Corrective action was substantially implemented for two of the other three recommendations and was incomplete or ongoing for the remaining recommendation.
The Texas Military Department (Department) developed and approved Facilities Master Plans (FMPs) for fiscal years 2019-2023 and fiscal years 2021-2025 to include in its biennial Strategic Plans, as required by Rider 16, page V-44, the General Appropriations Act (85th Legislature) and Rider 16, page V-43, the General Appropriations Act (86th Legislature).
The Department did not ensure that funds appropriated for capital construction were spent on projects included in FMPs as required by Rider 16, page V-44, the General Appropriations Act (85th Legislature) and Rider 16, page V-43, the General Appropriations Act (86th Legislature). The Department used appropriated funds for capital construction projects that were not included in FMPs. As of May 2022, the Department had initiated 7 capital projects with a cost of $23.6 million that were not on the FMPs for fiscal years 2019-2023 or fiscal years 2021-2025.
Additionally, the Department did not maintain documentation to support the initial estimates in the FMPs. The Department stated that it did not maintain the support for the estimates included in the FMPs and that it estimated a capital project's cost based on market prices when an FMP was created.
The Department monitored capital projects in its FMPs in accordance with its policies and procedures and contract provisions by conducting inspections and reviews of projects during their construction phase and ensuring that projects' change orders were properly supported and approved.
However, the Department should ensure that it (1) consistently performs required reviews during the design phase of projects, (2) accurately tracks project expenditures, and (3) appropriately limits access to project tracking spreadsheets.
The Department fully implemented corrective action for 8 (73 percent) of 11 recommendations related to contracting made by the State Auditor's Office in Chapter 1 of An Audit Report on Financial Processes at the Military Department (SAO Report No. 18-010, December 2017). Corrective action was substantially implemented for two of the other three recommendations and was incomplete or ongoing for the remaining recommendation.
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