Schooner Ernestina Commission Responds To Audit

State Auditor Suzanne Bump's office released an audit on Tuesday which found the Schooner Ernestina Commission didn't submit its required business and spending plan on time.

Commission Chair Dr. Laura Pires-Hester told WBSM News they take the findings in the report very seriously and that steps are being taken to ensure this doesn't happen again.

"We will work closely will DCR (Department of Conservation and Recreation) to make sure that all of the procedures are followed," said Pires-Hester "this is an important project and we don't want anything to stand in the way of doing what we can to get this finished."

Specifically Pires-Hester says they have a plan in place to make sure all required paperwork is submitted in a timely manner.

"We will be working right at this end of this year and the beginning of next year to prepare our part of the audit report so it will be ready before the March deadline," said Pires-Hester.

The audit also found that the DCR did not keep adequate documentation of a credit of as much as $50,000 from a contractor.

The credit to the Commission was for repairs to the Schooner.

DCR says the auditors simply did not understand the method used for processing and paying for lead that is being used in the repairs.