Posted on Thu, Sep. 21, 2006

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Eckstrom used state vehicle for family trip

Comptroller general’s action prompts calls for tighter rules for agencies’ use of state-owned cars

By BEN WERNER

bwerner@thestate.com

South Carolina’s comptroller general used a state-issued minivan and gas card to take his family on a 3,615-mile trip to Minnesota two summers ago.

Richard Eckstrom — who said he repaid last week the roughly $665 charged to the gas card when questioned about it — says he did nothing wrong. S.C. law regulating elected constitutional officials’ use of state-owned vehicles backs him up.

“I was told there is no restriction on how constitutional officers use their vehicles,” said Eckstrom, who as comptroller general is the state’s paymaster.

The governor, lieutenant governor and the seven other statewide elected officials are exempt from having to log trips made with state vehicles. They can use their vehicles — and gas cards — as they wish.

But after hearing about Eckstrom’s journey, taxpayer advocates and public policy experts say the vehicle perk should be refined.

Since each of these elected officials has different needs and duties to perform, simply limiting the use of a taxpayer-owned vehicle to only in-state or work-related probably is not the best answer, said James Kent, assistant professor of public administration at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

So, “there ought to be rules for each agency,” Kent said. “It’s inviting abuse.”

In Eckstrom’s case, the trip in a state-owned 2002 Dodge Caravan was made to visit two ailing aunts in Grand Marais, Minn., a vacation spot nestled on Lake Superior near the Canadian border.

Eckstrom grew up in Duluth, which is on the way to Grand Marais. One of his aunts died shortly after the visit.

Last week, questions about the minivan’s use were first raised by Drew Theodore, Eckstrom’s Democratic opponent for comptroller general in November’s election. Until then, Eckstrom said he had not thought much about the minivan’s use.

Theodore provided The State with copies of records showing the log of Eckstrom’s trip, with mileage and gas card use.

On Friday, after Theodore’s campaign started requesting information, Eckstrom said he wrote a personal check for about $665 to repay the state for the cost of gas purchased during the trip.

Eckstrom, who as comptroller general earned $92,007 last year, said he wrote the check because, “I don’t want this to reflect on my staff.”

Theodore has said if elected, he will not accept a state vehicle, and instead will sign one out from the motor pool if he needs to travel for official business.

“This is why I’m running because the office is supposed to be a watchdog of government,” Theodore said.

Eckstrom, countered, saying, “I made no effort to conceal the trip.”

Rod Shealy, an Eckstrom campaign adviser, called Theodore’s action a negative attack.

Shealy sent an e-mail Wednesday saying Theodore’s campaign is trying, “to divert attention away from Republican Richard Eckstrom’s outstanding record of standing up for the taxpayers and restoring our state’s AAA credit rating.”

The trip came to light because Eckstrom used a loaner from the state when his state-owned 1999 Buick LeSabre broke down the day before his family was scheduled to leave for Minnesota.

The state motor pool, in charge of car maintenance and repairs, said fixing the LeSabre would take several days, he said.

When offered a loaner from the state motor pool, he asked for the roomier minivan for him, his wife and two of their three kids.

The state allows statewide officials, including Eckstrom, to use a loaner and its gas card from the state motor pool when their regular vehicle is being fixed. That vehicle’s mileage and the gas card use are logged by the motor pool.

Some of Eckstrom’s supporters were unhappy when told about the details of the trip.

Don Weaver, executive director of the S.C. Association of Taxpayers, said Wednesday he wants the Legislature to consider tightening the controls over state-issued vehicles.

“I don’t think it’s fair to put the burden on the agencies,” said Weaver, who expressed surprise over Eckstrom’s trip.

In the past, his organization has lauded Eckstrom’s work to protect taxpayer interests, he said.

Gov. Mark Sanford, a longtime proponent of cutting waste from state government, would be glad to consider changes to the vehicle policy, his spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

However, the governor’s office would not discuss the trip of Eckstrom, a constant ally on the State Budget and Control Board.

“You’re going to be hard-pressed to find somebody in state office who has looked after taxpayer expenses as general Eckstrom has,” Sawyer said.

To keep costs down, Eckstrom said he does not mind driving one of the older state cars, and says he often requests them. He estimates his current car, a 1998 Crown Victoria, has about 144,000 miles on it.

“It’s a car the state wouldn’t use. When it rains, it gets a musty smell. The trunk leaks a bit. The floor mats have oil spots.”

Reach Werner at (803) 771-8509.

COST TO RENT

The weekly rate to rent a Dodge Grand Caravan from Enterprise rent-a-car in September 2006 in South Carolina is $619.57, including tax and fees.

But there is a catch. Enterprise has unlimited miles in South Carolina and Georgia. Outside those states, it sets a limit of 150 free miles per day, then charges 25 cents per mile after that.

For a similar trip as Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom took, this would add about $478 to the car rental.