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reprint or license thisTransportation officials rebut audit
Report says agency mismanagement cost state more than $50 million
By AARON GOULD SHEININ
asheinin@thestate.com
State and federal highway officials spent five hours Friday poking holes in a recent audit that said the S.C. Department of Transportation has serious management problems that have cost the agency more than $50 million.
DOT director Elizabeth Mabry appeared before a pair of special Senate subcommittees exploring the audit, which was requested by legislators in 2005 after allegations of mismanagement arose.
Senators did little grilling of Mabry, who’s found herself fending off suggestions from Gov. Mark Sanford’s Transportation Commission appointee that she resign. Sanford, who wants to put the agency under his control, will need legislators on his side if that’s to happen.
“We are not a road or a bridge,” Mabry said. “We are 5,000 human beings, and human beings are not perfect. We want to learn from experiences. We know we can learn from what we’ve done well and we can learn from what we have not done so well.”
Although the report uncovered at least $50 million that could have been saved through management changes, that’s less than 1.5 percent of what DOT spent during the three-year period that was examined.
Bob Lee, the S.C. division administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, told senators the state agency was following procedure when it held on to millions of dollars in invoices until federal money was available.
The audit said the agency lost more than $1 million in potential interest by not immediately submitting $145 million worth of invoices for reimbursement to the federal government.
Lee said when federal money for highway projects becomes available, officials notify the state DOT, then the agency submits bills. Money from Washington comes to the state in chunks, and Lee and DOT officials said invoices are submitted when federal money is available.
“As Ms. Mabry explained, as funds were coming in, we paid those bills as money became available,” Lee said.
He also said state auditors declined his offer of assistance with their investigation.
Sens. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, and Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, chairmen of the two subcommittees, said the entire group needs to meet again to allow auditors to respond.
A House panel will be examining the audit later.
Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658.
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