Pinning down the amount of commuting in WV government proves elusive

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Getting a handle on state vehicles being used for commuting is almost as hard as figuring out how many state vehicles there are in the first place.

The state Legislative Auditor set out to figure out how many people use a state-owned vehicle to commute plus the percentage of total miles driven in state vehicles that resulted from commuting.

The Legislative Auditor staff presented its findings Sunday to the Post Audits Committee of the state Legislature during interim meetings. The report is part of a series of looks at the state fleet.

State agencies were asked to turn over information about state vehicles being used for commuting.

The Legislative Auditor determined that 495 individuals use state-owned vehicles to commute during the six months covered in the analysis.

Of those, 220 were from the Department of Transportation and 128 were from the Department of Commerce — accounting for 80 percent of all state vehicles used for commuting.

But the Legislative Auditor found that it was not possible to determine the percentage of miles driven for commuting because many state agencies do not track the usage data necessary to make such a determination.

The inconsistency across state agencies in quality and quantity of available vehicle usage information is due, in part, to exemptions for some state agencies under the Department of Administration’s fleet management rules, the Legislative Auditor wrote.

Of the 495 people who used state vehicles for commuting, agencies were only able to provide mileage information for both business and non-business use for 123.

For the rest, the commuting information provided was limited to names of commuters and, for some of those, the number of days upon which the vehicles were used for commuting or the total miles a person drove during the review period.

In either case, the specific mileage for commuting was not separately tracked.

The agency with the largest number of commuters, the Department of Transportation, was only able to provide the names of the individuals who used vehicles but no other information.

“The effect of this has been inconsistency across state agencies in the amount and quality of available fleet management data,” the Legislative Auditor’s Office wrote.

“This, in turn, has hindered the ability of the Fleet Management Office in fulfilling its mission of managing and overseeing the usage of state-owned vehicles.”

For the 123 people whose agencies documented both business and non-business mileage, 71 were indicated to have zero miles for non-business use of the vehicle even though they were reported as being used for commuting.

That included 41 at the Division of Military Affairs and Public Safety, 29 at the Department of Agriculture and one at the Department of Revenue.

For the remaining 52 commuters, the average individual drove 7,865 total miles over the scope of the review, with 2,309 for non-business purposes.

That amounts to about 30 percent of the total miles driven per vehicle for non-business reasons.

The Legislative Auditor also found that state agencies are not properly reporting the taxable fringe benefit for employees who use state vehicles for commuting.

The report recommended the Fleet Management Division seek help from the Internal Revenue Service and the state Tax Department to assist state agencies in choosing a method to calculate the taxable fringe benefit for commuters.

The Legislative Auditor also recommended the Legislature require state agencies to provide an annual document detailing the specific non-compensatory business reason for the assignment of a state vehicle to an employee.





More News

News
As Yeager Airport's Wildlife Patrol Dog turns 7, a new dog comes in to learn from him
The new Border Collie is getting acclimated and receiving training for his soon-to-be role.
March 28, 2024 - 6:30 pm
News
Dunlow Volunteer Fire Department closes
The Dunlow VFD did not have a valid workers compensation insurance policy.
March 28, 2024 - 6:20 pm
News
PEIA examines financial effects of new law meant to ensure local pharmacies get fair reimbursements
Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 453 into law this week.
March 28, 2024 - 4:11 pm
News
Barbour County woman sentenced after death case sent back to circuit court by Supreme Court
Carli Reed sentenced on voluntary manslaughter conviction.
March 28, 2024 - 4:11 pm