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Commission counsel flags $49,000 overpayment on sewer contract as Oracle transition blamed
Summary
Commission counsel told the Wayne County committee that a $49,000 payment exceeded the authorized amount for a sewer‑jetting contract; staff said invoice and PO processing problems during a move to Oracle caused the overspend and said steps are being taken to prevent recurrence.
Commission counsel told the Wayne County Committee on Public Services on Feb. 24 that a payment of $49,000 was issued to a vendor beyond the contract’s authorized amount, calling the situation a control failure. Staff said the payment and related overspend resulted from a transition between financial systems and that they would implement corrections.
The issue arose during consideration of a retroactive amendment to a comparable‑source professional services contract with Pipeline Management Company for sewer jetting and cleaning services for the Rouge Valley Sewage Disposal System. Elizabeth Barrera, assistant division director for environmental services, said the original PO was for $180,000 but that about $230,000 was processed and paid while the county transitioned from JD Edwards to the Oracle financial system.
“this is not just merely retroactive and overspending the contract approved amount. this is we actually issue the payment and that's a situation where you should never have a payment issue and there should be controls in place,” said commission counsel, urging stronger controls and noting that a payment had been issued beyond the authorized amount.
Barrera told the committee that some invoices were processed to close out fiscal year 24–25 and that PO information did not transfer correctly during the Oracle transition, which prevented automatic checks that would have stopped payment beyond the PO amount. She said county staff and fiscal auditors (M&B) performed a quick review and did not find a pattern of similar occurrences but acknowledged that the single overpayment required remediation.
Why it matters: Payments issued beyond authorized contract amounts can expose the county to audit risk and weaken vendor‑payment controls. Commission counsel emphasized that issuing payment beyond authorization should not happen and recommended follow up; staff said systems fixes and vendor portal use beginning April 1 should prevent recurrence.
Outcome: The committee approved the retroactive amendment to ensure continuity of sewer‑jetting services and directed staff to address process issues; staff said they will work with vendors and fiscal to ensure invoices are processed through the portal and that POs prevent future overspends.
