Politicians saying they will eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government is a little bit like the old saying about the weather–everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. However, credit the Justice Administration for bucking that trend in at least two areas.
The first is oversight of a line of credit available to state agencies. It’s a $25 million credit line, at an average interest rate of 1.68 percent, that started in 1992 during the Caperton Administration as a way to buy state vehicles, but spread payments over several years to even an agency’s cash flow. Initially, only the Secretary of the Department of Administration or their general counsel could sign off on borrowing the money.
However, as often happens in state government, after awhile the procedures get lax, with more and more people utilizing the line of credit. Governor Jim Justice asked Deputy Chief of Staff Ann Urling to look into the spending.
Urling, who spent three decades in banking before coming to the administration, pretty quickly realized too many people were utilizing the line of credit for too many things with not enough oversight. Some of the examples include $700,000 for two airplanes and a flight simulator at Fairmont State University for its aviation program, $411,000 by Marshall University for a new softball field, and $1 million by Shepherd University for a soccer field.
Now the administration has tightened the guidelines. According to a memo sent to agency heads on October 24, all use of the line of credit must be justified to, and approved by, the Governor’s Office.
The second step also comes from Urling and it concerns a long-standing issue in state government—the vehicle fleet. She has directed all agencies to document how each person who is authorized to take their state vehicle home uses that vehicle. 1) Who is permitted to drive their state motor vehicle home? 2) What is the justification? 3) Is this practice being monitored and, if needed, properly reported to the IRS?
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law HB 4015 creating a Fleet Management Division within the administration. Delegate Gary Howell (R-Mineral), who has been riding herd on the issue for several years, said the law creates a centralized accounting system for all state vehicles.
Urling tells me she’s looking into other areas of state government where best practices can be implemented to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly. Not all business practices translate to government, but the private sector is particularly adept at money managing because survival is at stake.
Meanwhile, State Auditor J.B. McCuskey has dramatically improved the public’s access to state spending information with the wvCheckbook.com website, so taxpayers can track where their dollars go.
We know government wastes money because, well, it’s the government. However, greater transparency and implementation of proven business practices make state government more efficient. Props to Governor Justice, Urling, Howell and McCuskey for the steps they are taking.