Barely used vehicles, officers on the clock from home and more can be found in an audit with some pointed criticism of a major state agency.
The state auditors of public accounts had a lot of suggestions on how to tighten the bottom line at the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), a very large agency covering everything from bear dens to electric bills.
Auditors reviewed fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
For starters, auditors said in 11 instances, environmental conservation officers’ vehicle GPS indicated they were stopped at their homes for an hour or more on shift.
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Plus, a review of mileage reports from April 2022 showed 105 times when a vehicle was used five times or less during the month and sometimes, not at all.
Auditors also took issue with DEEP’s vehicle mileage logs, noting the department had 502 vehicles in 2022, but only 293 mileage logs on file.
DEEP said it is confident officer work time is accurately reported, noting some field officers begin duty from home.
Investigations
The agency agreed it needs more modern solutions for managing and rightsizing its fleet.
State Senator Stephen Harding, a ranking senator on the Environment Committee said the following in response to the DEEP audit:
“The auditors’ findings clearly show a need for better management of taxpayer dollars on a variety of fronts. For example, the audit found that DEEP placed an employee on paid administrative leave, pending criminal charges, for more than 19 months. During that time span the employee received $114,983 in paid administrative leave. Of this amount, $109,239 should not have been allowed because it exceeded 30 days. The audit also pointed to the need for stronger internal controls with regard to employees’ timesheets and notifications of irregular handling of taxpayer funds. The report cited the need for DEEP to strengthen fuel logs as well as its vehicle maintenance system. As Ranking Senator on the Environment Committee, I will be closely monitoring the steps DEEP takes to better protect and manage state taxpayers’ dollars.”
You can read the audit here.
