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Air Force Base overspent by nearly $1M

The error on a $9 million paving contract has led to a spending review at Wright-Pat.

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer 9:44 PM Friday, November 13, 2009

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The base contracting unit says it “inadvertently” overspent a $9 million paving contract authorization by nearly $1 million, and has begun a review of other such contracts to ensure that their spending limits have not been exceeded.

The 88th Contracting Squadron’s contract with Diaz Enterprises Inc., of Minford, was overspent by $941,464, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base officials said in a statement Thursday, Nov. 12, responding to questions from the Dayton Daily News.

“Near the end of the government fiscal year (Sept. 30), we incorrectly placed four orders against the paving contract that cumulatively exceeded the ceiling of the contract,” the statement said.

Exceeding contract ceilings, without including specific written approval and justification in the record, can violate federal law. Overspending a contract, without proper authorization, can be regarded as changing the scope of a contract and is considered unfair to contractors which competed for it under the government’s originally stated specifications.

Wright-Patterson awarded Diaz a new paving contract for the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The orders that pushed the old contract over its spending limit should have been charged to the new one, base officials said.

“This error did not harm any company in the marketplace,” the base’s statement said. “Diaz was the winning contractor competitively selected for both the older and the follow-on paving contract.”

The base’s statement did not say whether the Air Force is taking steps to determine who was accountable for the error. An internal investigation is to be done, base spokesman Derek Kaufman said Friday.

“Where’s the administration and management of the contract by the government to make sure they’re operating within contracting boundaries?” said Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight, an independent watchdog organization in Washington, D.C.

“I think this case highlights the lack of efficient systems that would have placed the Air Force on notice of this mistake.” Contracting personnel will be provided refresher training in contract management, base officials said.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, would be interested in reviewing the findings of the Air Force’s investigation, spokeswoman Joanna Kuebler said Friday. “The senator believes wasting taxpayer dollars is unacceptable,” Kuebler said.

Contact this reporter  at (937) 225-2242  or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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