Highlights from Auditor’s report
A state auditor’s report released Thursday identified steps the Ohio Department of Transportation could take that may save as much as $6 million.
ODOT should dispose of 178 underused pieces of heavy equipment. The estimated auction value of the goods is $3.1 million. Would also save $88,500 in maintenance parts over decade. Nearly 42 percent of ODOT’s 424 pieces of heavy equipment are used less than 5 percent of the expected operational time.
There are 206 underutilized tractors. The auction value of them is $1.5 million and the maintenance parts savings is $1.2 million over 10 years.
Close 2 District 5 rest areas east of Columbus. This would save $4.92 million over 10 years.
COLUMBUS – More than $6 million can be saved by downsizing the Ohio Department of Transportation’s fleet of vehicles and closing two rest stops in eastern Ohio, according to a report released Thursday by Auditor of State Dave Yost.
Nearly 42 percent of ODOT’s heavy equipment are used only 5 percent of the time and 37 percent of tractors are used only 15 percent of the time expected due to seasonal needs, according to preliminary results from the first-ever performance audit of a state agency under Senate Bill 4.
The percentage of underutilized vehicles in the Dayton area and other regions were not released because the audit considered all state vehicles part of one pool, despite being located throughout the state, according to Carrie Bartunek, spokesperson for the auditor’s office.
The newly enacted law requires performance audits of four agencies every two years, with ODOT, Department of Education, Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency being first.
The first round of audits will cost an estimated $1.35 million to be paid by the agencies, according to records from the auditor’s office. Yost said the audits are on track to return savings 24 times as much as the auditor’s office spends to conduct them and called the process a home run for taxpayers.
“We believe, ultimately, this is going to be great savings to the taxpayers and give a blueprint for skinnying down the government,” Yost told the Dayton Daily News on Thursday.
ODOT Director Jerry Wray plans to examine and act on the findings. None of the audit’s suggestions would eliminate jobs, said ODOT spokesperson Melissa Ayers.
“We knew there could be efficiencies — we asked the auditor to look and help us quantify what they are,” Ayers said.
Ayers said the department would do its own analysis on the recommendations and “move quickly” to start selling under-used equipment.
In addition to better fleet management, the preliminary report recommends closing two rest areas on I-70 near I-77 at an annual savings of $492,000. ODOT recently invested $180,901 on one of the rest stops to repair the asphalt and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The department has cut about 300 positions through attrition since January 2011, which Ayers said saves $20 million annually. ODOT began a $2.85 million study on how the state could increase revenue from the Ohio Turnpike.
The study, expected to be completed this year, will examine the benefits of leasing the Turnpike, bonding against future toll revenue, privatizing rest stops and other options.
Yost said the performance reports highlight places where government agencies didn’t spend as wisely in the past.
“What might have made sense 40 years ago doesn’t make sense today,” Yost said. “That’s one of the problems with government — once we start doing something we never ask to stop.”
Yost said preliminary reports about the other agencies will be released through the next few months and the ODOT final report will be released later this year.
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