CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A legislative audit shows more than 1,500 state-owned vehicles are underutilized by state agencies.
“While at this point we can’t say the vehicles not meeting the utilization rule are not needed, it is clear that agencies are not properly requesting the exemptions to the rule,” Legislative Auditor’s Office Post Audits Division Director Denny Rhodes told lawmakers Tuesday.
MORE Read the audit report on state vehicles here
State agencies are required to get exemptions if a vehicle is driven less than 1,100 miles a month. Of the vehicles reviewed as part of the audit, 42 percent fell short of the minimum mileage requirement, Rhodes said.
“Yet only 10 of those vehicles in 2016 received an exemption that is required by rule,” he said.
Legislative auditors weren’t able to get their hands on mileage information from all agencies but of the ones they did the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety had 36 percent of its vehicles that didn’t meet the rule criteria, Department of Commerce 50 percent while the DHHR had 41 percent.
Rhodes told the legislative committee the audit showed 31 vehicles checked hadn’t been driven at all.