OLYMPIA – Washington’s audit teams are working on the first wave of 30 performance audits, with targets ranging from big-ticket agencies such as education and transportation to more hidden facets of state and local government, such as use of car pools and first-class air travel.
This broad style of auditing, created by a citizen initiative in late 2005, offers the country’s most independent and extensive system of probing how public dollars are being spent, state Auditor Brian Sonntag said Friday.
Initiative 900 includes its own financing, a sliver of the state sales tax that generates about $10 million a year for the audits. That means the auditor doesn’t have to ask the Legislature or governor for the money.
The state auditor has always done financial audits, to make sure dollars are spent legally and properly handled. The performance audits also look at what the taxpayer gets for the money. Under I-900, the auditor looks for effectiveness, cost savings and whether services can be reduced, eliminated, combined or transferred to the private sector. The auditor also suggests “best practices,” improvements and possible changes in legislation or regulations.
The initiative also requires the targeted agency to conduct a public hearing after the report is released. Sonntag also did extensive public opinion research last year to help him decide which programs to probe. The “civic engagement” feature can help reconnect citizens with their government and their feedback can greatly improve services, he said in an interview.
In a new report this week, Sonntag said the state’s pioneering effort is a model for the nation and has been written up in Governing magazine and praised by the Association of Government Accountants.
Sonntag, a Democratic elected official now serving his 11th year, said his agency will do the first 30 audits this year, completing 19 by the end of June.
Two are nearly complete now, dealing with debt collection and the state government motor pool.
The agency is doing four performance audits on aspects of the state Department of Transportation. Topics include the agency’s organization and overhead, including possible efficiencies; management of road and bridge construction projects, including management of inventory such as hot asphalt; the state ferry system’s $300 million operation; and planning and staging of road projects in heavily traveled Puget Sound country.
At the request of Gov. Chris Gregoire, auditors are also looking at the state Department of Health’s licensing of health professionals.
Another audit will look at purchasing practices of all state agencies, including whether employees are buying pricey meals and first-class air tickets on their business trips.
The main education audit is looking at the nine education service districts that serve the state’s 296 local school districts.
The auditor is looking at debt collection at six agencies that account for two-thirds of the $5 billion that is owed the state.
Real estate leases, drug purchases, higher education, and printing are other state-level programs being studied.
Local government also is included in the new performance audit law. Some of this year’s targets are Sound Transit’s light rail program, the Port of Seattle’s third runway project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the use of impact fees, public development authorities, employee overtime and take-home vehicle practices.
Tim Eyman, the sponsor of the performance audit initiative, said Friday he “couldn’t be more pleased with the progress so far. I love the fact that they’re ahead of schedule. They’re being very aggressive. He’s hitting the hot spots they need to be looking at.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
