EDITORIAL: Gov. Gregoire will do the right thing, won't she, on performance audits?

Source:

May 14 2009


The press around the state has been on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s case recently. From the Seattle Times to the Everett Herald to The Olympian, they are up in arms over the fact that the Legislature reduced the money available to the state Auditor to conduct performance audits.

Well, OK, the Legislature gutted that function in Auditor Brian Sonntag’s office.

The press wants Gregoire to restore the money.

You may remember performance audits. In 2005 voters approved Initiative 900, which established a 0.16 percent state sales tax to fund a program that requires Sonntag’s office to audit state and local agencies in search of cost savings and ways to improve performance. It passed handily, by the way. Apparently voters believed that it might be possible for the state to spend its money more wisely if someone actually looked over the shoulders of its various agencies.

I guess if you lose your pork because of a good program, you get rid of the program eh?


I can only state that the legislature is going about this in the wrong way.

Should they want to cut the budget on this program, then they should either repeal or lower the additional taxes that are collected to fund this program.

This seems to happen more than most are aware. decree a tax hike supported through voters approval, then pull the plug and keep charging the tax.

If I were to commit this type of scheme, I'm sure I would be prosecuted. How is it that our public servants, (those who are paid by our citizens through taxation), are not held accountable for their attempts to reallocate funds; -

from initiative 900 content -
(This act dedicates a portion of the state's existing sales and use tax (1/100th of 1%) to fund these comprehensive performance audits.) -

See the word "dedicates" ?

How about an audit to ensure the taxpayers have not already been taken by misappropriation of funds since this program began?

Moreover, regarding RCW 43.88.160,

in SUBSECTION 4.3.8.5
AUDIT TRACKING ;

4.3.8.5.2.a - To provide OFM with the necessary information to fulfill its responsibilities, and to cause corrective action to be taken in a timely manner, all state agencies and institutions are required to submit, to the Accounting Division of OFM within 30 days of the issue date of a state audit, corrective action plan information for each finding or questioned cost contained in the state audit examination. Refer to Subsection 4.3.8.5.3 for the format of the information to be provided.

Are these Pork Projects causing those cashing in on the wasteful programs, some not worthy of funding, to despise the loss of revenue that was flowing in the river of waste to their pockets, and is now trickling or bone dry?

Good for a financially responsible state and it's people, bad for individuals whos fortunes were made through the detrimental costs taxed from our Citizens.

I suggest that if we don't reign in our state government, then how can we reign in our federal goverments ever increasing spending frenzy?

By the way, 73% of the 1/100th of 1% of dedicated sales and use tax should be reduced from collection state wide.

Funny, 1/100th of 1% doesn't sound like much, but a penny from every $10,000 dollars adds up quick. If you consider the billions collected by the state through sales and use taxes.

Example:
$154 billion in the 2008 January-March time period tax revenues
multiply by .0001

That is $15,400,000.00 for one quarter.
That may be total revenue, but trying to find the revenues online is not a transparent government operation.

Even so, a portion of that is to fund the audits. I would like to audit the state for sure now, and verify that these funds are not getting skimmed.

In the the Washington State Comprehensive Annual Financial Report I couldn't find the figure.

How about some transparency Governor?