COLUMBIA --- The South Carolina Department of Transportation has made many improvements since a 2006 audit found the agency wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and lacked accountability, but more work is needed, according to a report released Tuesday.
Legislators put the agency under the governor's control in 2007 as part of its efforts to fix the problems.
"SCDOT has generally made significant efforts," the report says about 44 suggestions outlined in the earlier audit: 31 have been fully implemented and 12 are in the works.
But it noted the agency has backslid on one goal. Rather than speed up how long it takes to negotiate and sign contracts, the agency now takes longer: an average of more than 44 weeks in 2009, up from 34 in 2006. Delays in the contracting process can cause the state to lose money, according to the report by California-based MGT of America Inc., hired last February by the state Legislative Audit Council to conduct the audit.
"While SCDOT has improved, it seems the department continues to have many of the same problems we exposed a few years ago," said Sen. Larry Grooms, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
The Bonneau Republican also pointed to weaknesses in the agency's computer systems and steps auditors suggested to reduce the risk of someone misusing fuel and purchasing cards.
He said he's concerned by the continued lack of documentation on contract negotiations, and on construction adjustments that add money to a project.
Auditors identified almost 250 times the agency paid more than contracted, costing an additional $59 million, or less than 3 percent, of total payments for the projects. Though fuel and asphalt accounted for much of that, other changes should have been approved, it said.
Agency spokesman Pete Poore said changes in fuel and asphalt prices are built into contracts and the projects did not go over budget. He pointed out the audit team found changes in 315 contracts that resulted in lower prices.
Transportation Secretary Buck Limehouse said he agrees with most of the audit's suggestions.
"We have spent the past three years cutting costs, eliminating waste, and putting these savings and other resources into our 41,000-mile state highway system," he said. "Improving the efficiency of our agency is something that should never end."
The report also found the 2007 law designed to fix problems has led to inefficiency and might have resulted in higher costs. It said the agency's interpretation of the law on prioritizing maintenance projects has it seeking approval from its seven-member governing board at least three times during the contract process.
The report also said mandating the agency to report on and seek approval for each project is time-consuming.
A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said the audit reflects serious efforts to make the agency more effective.
However, "the audit does raise some worthwhile management issues that may require further changes on several fronts," said Ben Fox.
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