Bond update corrected after staff finds coding errors, permit charges and miscoded expenses

District staff told trustees Aug. 11 that a bond-update presentation shown at a prior meeting contained incorrect numbers and that staff and consultants have reconciled those figures and put new processes in place to avoid recurrence.

Facilities leadership said HPM and district staff reviewed expenditures tied to two bond-related property projects and found coding errors, miscoded permit fees and improper assignment of charges. “This slide in particular had some, some very incorrect numbers, and first of all, I wanna apologize for that. That should have never got past us,” a district facilities representative said.

Key corrections and rationale: Staff said some expenditures were pulled by expenditure codes without sufficient descriptive context, producing lines that belonged to other projects. Examples cited include a City of Euless permit incorrectly shown under one Bedford property (staff will move that permit expense to the Masonic Lodge/Trinity project) and vendor change orders that represent maintenance costs better paid from general maintenance rather than bond funds.

Soft costs and bond sale expenses: The original slide had a large “other soft cost” number that included bond sale costs; staff moved those costs back to the master budget where bond-sale-related fees properly belong. The district said it expects to reconcile these items and continue working with HPM to improve accuracy.

Permits and inspections: Trustees pressed staff on high permit amounts—one permit was listed at about $3 million for an elementary permit—and staff said city practices differ. Staff said they negotiated with the city manager to clarify charges and that some cities use third-party plan review and inspection services that can raise direct permit costs; staff reported progress in reducing the projected fees after discussion with city officials.

Timeline and percentages: Updated slides shared with trustees show project progress percentages (for example, Bell at about 7% completed, Trinity about 2%) and staff said those had been reconciled against actual expenditures. Staff also reported a reimbursement resolution had restored roughly $16 million in funds related to pre-bond property purchases.

Board direction and next steps: Trustees asked staff to clean up the coding, move misallocated expenses (permits, AquaRec pool repairs) out of bond accounts where appropriate, and return corrected reports. Staff said they have instituted reconciliation steps with HPM and will continue root-cause analysis as they build out a facilities department.

Ending: Trustees accepted the corrected presentation and asked staff for tighter procedures going forward; staff said they will document processes, retain reconciliations and return updated materials.