HOUSTON (AP) _ A scathing audit by the federal Department of Homeland Security questions whether some $45 million in public money was spent properly to remove debris for cleanup of Chambers County, one of the Southeast Texas counties most devastated by Hurricane Ike two years ago.
The review by the department’s Office of Inspector General recommends the money already paid to contractors and approved by county administrators be disallowed because of non-competitive contracts, shoddy or non-existent record keeping and ineligible and unsupported costs.
The report also is critical of federal and state emergency management agencies.
The report says officials in the coastal county just east of Houston provided justifications for not following rules governing the expenditures. But the report said none of the justifications was sufficient.
County Judge Jimmy Sylvia did not return a call Wednesday.
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