Nine state representatives, including the son of
state Highway Commissioner Bob Harrell, asked the Legislative Audit Council on
Wednesday for a audit of the state Department of Transportation.
Bob Harrell said he approached his son, Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston,
Tuesday and asked him to make the request. Last month, the commissioners
proposed hiring an independent auditing firm, but critics alleged that would
yield biased results, Bob Harrell said.
The legislative audit could take a year and cost up to $200,000. The
Legislative Audit Council is the investigative arm of the General Assembly.
"With all the negative things being said about them right now, it just seemed
like a good idea," said Rep. Harrell. "We don't need negative things being said
about an agency with folks working so hard. I believe what we will find is that
they are doing" as well as they can.
The commissioners' idea to independently audit their own Transportation
Department came after commission Chairman Tee Hooper asked Elizabeth Mabry,
executive director of the department, to step down. He accused her of running an
agency with financial problems and poor morale.
Hooper alleged, in part, that top-level employees were being given vehicles
for personal use, that the department hadn't claimed roughly $145 million in
federal money and that the department had wasted money last year by sending 260
employees to a bike and pedestrian conference in Myrtle Beach.
In the Feb. 17 letter, Hooper told Mabry, "I don't have the authority to ask
you to step down, but if I did, I would be asking you now."
The legislative audit would investigate each of Hooper's allegations, along
with other matters, including a detailed explanation of expenditures for the
past three fiscal years.
"There is no question that this is a very important audit request, and it
will be given very careful consideration by the audit council," said George
Schroeder, director of the Legislative Audit Council.
Hooper was attending a transportation workshop Wednesday and could not be
reached for comment. He was appointed by the governor to serve as commission
chairman nearly two years ago. He is the only governor-appointed member of the
highway commission.
"The governor has always been about looking under the hood of any state
agency. The DOT is no exception," said Will Folks, the governor's spokesman.
"Obviously Chairman Hooper has spent a good deal of time looking under the hood.
The audit is another indication that some things still need to be looked at."
A five-member audit board will meet at 11 a.m. April 27 to decide whether to
conduct the audit. The council is comprised of five citizens elected by the
General Assembly. Four legislators, including Rep. Rex Rice, R-Greenville, who
was among the nine lawmakers who signed the audit request, act as ex-officio
members. They advise the citizen members but don't vote.
"Our goal is to clear the air," said Commissioner Harrell. "If they don't
find anything substantial, especially concerning those accusations being made by
the chairman, it would seem fit for some people to change their minds (about
alleged problems within the transportation department). Given the level the
charges have risen to, this thing has to be resolved."
The Legislative Audit Council would examine:
-- Expenditures for the past three fiscal years for all sources of funding,
including the use of state, federal or other funds.
-- Whether funds on hand are adequate, short or in excess of obligations on
existing contracts.
-- Funds spent on primary and secondary roads and associated maintenance
budgets, including schedules for such projects.
-- Whether there are opportunities for cost savings, that administrative
costs are necessary and that funds are used in accordance with law and
regulations.
-- Management controls, including the use of and assignment of vehicles, with
state and non-state tags, and the reasons they are needed.
-- Methods for measuring the results of expenditures and the adequacy of
those measures.
-- The department's accountability report and budget-related documents, to
ensure valid and reliable data are obtained, maintained and disclosed
accurately.
State representatives who requested the audit:
Daniel Cooper, R-Piedmont
Bobby Harrell Jr., R-Charleston
Shirley Hinson, R-Goose Creek
Herb Kirsh, D-Clover
James McGee III, R-Florence
Rex Rice, R-Greenville
J. Roland Smith, R-Langley
Lewis Vaughn, R-Greer
Annette Young, R-Summerville
