DOT Commission looks at launching its own review

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The idea prompted a warning from Commissioner Bob Harrell Sr. that doing a second study "would open up some pretty good criticism about wasting money."

Such a review, officials estimated, could cost taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars.

But other DOT board members said the commission might want to look at different subjects than the LAC.

"Why can't we have a say-so?" asked Commissioner Bobby Jones of Camden, who wants the board to hire its own consultant. "Why should we yield to them?"

The audit was prompted by criticism from DOT Chairman Tee Hooper of Greenville in February of DOT's management.

Hooper said then that he thought there had been a mismanagement of funds and cited examples such as the purchase and use of four Chevrolet Tahoes for agency officials, a beach conference attended by hundreds of agency employees and a lack of speed in billing for federal transportation aid.

The agency has complained about a lack of funds to maintain state roads and hasn't paved any secondary roads in four years because of insufficient money. Last year, it suggested that lawmakers enact an axle fee on every vehicle to raise more money.

The board voted in March to seek an "independent evaluation" of the agency and at the same time voiced support for DOT Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry.

Two commissioners began looking at options for the review and talked to LAC officials.

On Wednesday, Harrell's son, who chairs the House budget-writing committee, asked the LAC to audit DOT. He was joined in his request by eight other lawmakers on his committee. He said his father asked him to request the audit.

Jones told other board members Thursday that if the DOT commission had voted to seek its evaluation first, the lawmakers never would have asked the LAC.

He said the board needed to act quickly with its own review to "put this thing to rest."

Commissioner Marion Carnell of Ware Shoals, who along with Commissioner William "Bud" Turner of Greer, looked into how the board could hire its own consultant, told commissioners that he thought lawmakers should have waited before asking for an audit.

"I thought they should have given us the courtesy to allow us to give the report first," he said. "After the cloud that was put on us yesterday, I don't know what we want to do."

Two officials with the State Budget and Control Board told the board the procedures for hiring consultants for a management review.

After one commissioner made a motion that the board "move ahead," Hooper and Harrell questioned the idea of a parallel study.

The commissioners then asked Carnell and Turner to help prepare a list of questions the board wants answered in a review to help decide whether to hire a private consultant.

"We support any review," Mabry told the board. "I think you will find it will be a good review."

In their request, the lawmakers asked the LAC to examine eight areas, including DOT's spending, its management controls and any opportunities for cost savings.

Two of Hooper's concerns — travel and timely billing for federal aid — were discussed Thursday.

Mabry and two subordinates presented a plan to combine two of the agency's annual conferences to save money.

Hooper had criticized last year's bike and pedestrian conference in Myrtle Beach that was attended by 263 DOT employees. He said his concern was the number of employees attending and he believes some of the money could be better spent to build bike and pedestrian pathways.

This year, the agency plans to hold that conference together with another on partnering in Hilton Head, officials told the board, with a total of about 200 DOT employees.

"I'm not suggesting those conferences aren't needed," Hooper said. "I'm suggesting we be more cost-conscious."

Carnell addressed the federal billing issue, charging that news media had misled the public about the issue.

"We have never lost one penny of federal money," he said.

He then passed out a sheet which explained that the agency in January was waiting on spending authority from the federal government before it submitted bills for $145 million in highway money.

Hooper said his questions weren't about whether the agency ever asked for the money, just that it didn't bill for the money quickly enough."It was a question of timing," he said.