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Some state agencies are failing to implement auditors' advice to fix inefficient and ineffective practices, possibly causing taxpayer funds to be wasted, according to a report released yesterday.
The Bureau of State Audits said that it found 137 recommendations made to 28 state agencies more than a year ago that were never been fully implemented. Some agencies have flat-out rejected the auditors' suggestions.
For example, California State University told state auditors that it will not create a centralized system to track university pay or monitor the implementation of policies and their impact on university funds. The university system also declined to develop policies that would increase the diversity of their trustee-level committee.
The Department of Public Health has told auditors that it won't update a plan for disposing of low-level radioactive waste. And the State Water Resources Control Board has said it won't revise rules that auditors found create inconsistent and error-filled annual fees.
Other agencies have either disagreed with auditors' findings or simply dragged their feet, the report found.
The Department of Industrial Relations took four years before it began creating procedures that would better track down under-reported workplace injuries. Auditors made these recommendations in February 2006 after learning about unreported injuries due to safety hazards on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Auditors made 770 recommendations to state agencies from January 2005 to October 2009. Approximately 82 percent of those recommendations have been implemented, according to the report.
The California State Auditor offers government decision makers solutions for streamlining processes which, if implemented, could ultimately save taxpayers millions of dollars. It also offers transparent findings that are free from outside influence, including that of the Legislature, governor, and the subjects of our audits and investigations. As the independent external auditor, we ensure that public programs are delivered in the most efficient and effective manner and that public funds are spent wisely, benefiting all Californians.
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