HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter2VICTOR I. IGWE, CPA, CIA
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR GENERAL
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March 26, 2007
Mr. Jorge Sanchez, District Controller (South Florida District)
Allied Waste Services / Browning -Ferris Industries, Inc. (BFI)
3840 NW 37th Ct.,
Miami, FL 33142
Telephone (305) 416-2040
Telecopier: (305) 416-2046
E-Mail: lag@ci.miami.fLus
RE: Request for Credit/Audit of Browning -Ferris Industries, Inc. — Audit #07-010
Dear Mr. Sanchez:
I am in receipt of your letter dated March 16, 2007, which indicated that a Miami -Dade County
(County) audit determined that your company remitted in error $121,391.53 of franchise fees to the City
of Miami (City) that were due to County. We handle such claims as follows:
• Determine the location of the service address by using the City's BLOCKFACE computer
application.
• If said address is not located in the City of Miami, we determine how much, if any, applicable
franchise fees were remitted to the City.
• The franchisee is given credit for only those service accounts that were miscoded and paid to the
City in error.
• Said credit is netted with any additional amount determined to be due to the City by the current
audit.
Therefore, we will review your claims as stated above.
T an y. u for your assistance to this matter.
Jorge Sanchez
District ontroller
Allied Waste - S. Florida District
cc: Mr. Richard Berkowits, C.P.A., Chairman, Audit Advisory Committee,
City of Miami
Mr. Mario Soldevilla, Director, Solid Waste Department, City of Miami
Mr. Steven, Margolis, Solid Waste Department, City of Miami
Ms. Leanne Cheung-hung, Auditor, City of Miami
Page 2 of 2
Mr. Jorge Sanchez
March 26, 2007
The lead -auditor assigned to the audit of BFI's franchise fee transaction for the period October 1, 2005
through September 30, 2006, and selected transaction prior and subsequent to this period, informed me
that you have indicated that you are in the process of assigning your franchise license to a third party
and have requested that all audit field work be completed no later than March 31, 2007 because of this
assignment. Please see Article XIII of the Franchise Agreement titled: "Assignability" for guidance in
assigning your franchise license to another party. The City Commission has yet to approve your
assignment as required by Article XIII and when the assignment request is granted, the new Franchisee
assumes all obligations set forth in the Agreement and is required to comply with all terms of the
Agreement, including resolution of all audit findings. Also, in terms of logistics, it will not be feasible
to complete BFI's audit field work within the period that you stated; Credit claim for miscoded accounts
must be validated before any credit can be recommended.
Also, be advised that Article VI titled "Audit and Inspection Rights" of the franchise agreement requires
all franchisees to retain all franchise fee related records for a period of up to 5 years following the date
of the final payment. Article VI also requires franchisees to make those records available to the City
upon request.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me at 305-416-2044.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Victor Igwe
Independent Auditor General
Office of Independent Auditor General
C: Mario Soldevilla, Director, Solid Waste Department
Steven Margolis, Principal Auditor, Solid Waste Department
Leanne Cheung-hung, Staff Auditor
Members of the City Audit Advisory Committee
Audit Documentation File