http://www.sacbee.com/content/politi...14274912c.html

Audit blasts oversight of off-road parks
State says the problem is being corrected

By Alexa H. Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, August 18, 2005
Story appeared on Page A3 of The Bee

The program in charge of the state's off-road recreation parks has violated state contracting rules and misused its funds by developing projects that offer few or no new opportunities for off-highway vehicles, according to a report released Wednesday by state Auditor Elaine Howle's office.
The highly critical audit details shortcomings in California's Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program that range from insufficient environmental planning to the unauthorized chartering of a private aircraft.

"The division has also used contracts for questionable purchases and violated state contracting rules," the 93-page audit states.


The program administers eight state-run off-road recreation areas, including the Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area about 20 miles east of Sacramento, and partners with local governments and federal agencies to provide other off-road opportunities.
The off-highway vehicle program, run by the state Parks and Recreation Department, receives its funding mainly from fuel tax revenues, vehicle registration fees and entrance fees to the off-road parks.

The agency does not dispute most of the findings in the audit, even the most serious, said Roy Stearns, deputy director for communications at the parks department.

He said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed a new deputy director for the program, Daphne Greene, last summer and that "she is on board to help us fix it and make it right."

"We look at this audit as a way to give us an immediate laundry list of good recommendations that we can start on," Stearns said. "Clearly, we think the program needs some significant midcourse corrections."

One off-road advocate who sits on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission criticized the audit.

"Personally, I think it's a witch hunt, and any time you audit, you are always going to find something. Nobody is infallible," said Ed Waldheim, president of the California Off Road Vehicle Association.

Waldheim was appointed to the state commission by former Gov. Gray Davis.

But state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside, who requested the audit about a year ago, said the report confirmed his suspicions that the program is "pickpocketing the off-highway users."

"This is what we feared," he said. "Now we have the proof, if you will, of chronic misfeasance and negligence by government agencies."

Specifically, Morrow said he was concerned about findings that the program's grant awards have shifted away from expanding off-road opportunities and toward funding restoration projects.

The audit found that the program earmarked $38 million for three land acquisition projects that will provide little or no new acreage for off-road trails.

"Basically what it comes down to is that there was one ... $38 million slush fund for the department in which monies were going into uses that have little or nothing to do with off-highway use," Morrow said.

Among the more serious findings, the audit discovered several violations of state contracting rules.

A review of 42 contracts, totaling more than $8 million, found the program contracted for "questionable purposes, including the unauthorized chartering of private aircraft."

The review also found the program violated state contracting rules that prohibit splitting up related tasks to avoid bidding rules and oversight.

The audit suggested that the department should review whether tasks can better be done by its own officials rather than outside contractors.

Stearns said state officials already have begun to address contracting problems.

"That's already been stopped, and we've got a process in place to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

Other findings in the audit include:

* The department used $3.6 million in Off-Highway Motor Vehicle trust fund money in 2003-04 to support state parks that do not have off-highway recreation.

* The department has not developed goals to balance off-road vehicle recreation with environmental concerns.

 

Any idea where we can find the audit? If one happened to be inclined to read through 90 pages of gov. audit.

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Yer a crazy reading fool. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

When you read it could you sort of condense it for the rest of us? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

Im hoping for 2, maybe 3 pages tops. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

You want the Executive Summary then. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

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OHV Audit

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Just finished it. The report itself is roughly 90 pages. But it's rather quick reading seeing as they only use maybe 2/3 of the width of the paper. These guys get paid by the sheet? The last probably 50 pages are responses to the audit by the Division and Commission members.

I need to read it a few times to digest it better, plus it's 2:30am.

One of the choice comments was from the Chair of the Commission, IIRC. He's an anti-access guy. He doesn't think that closing a trail permanently causes a net reduction in OHV access. Or something like that. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] Errr uhhh. I think this hombre needs to go back to 1st grade and learn subtraction. I have a feeling the auditors notes when they were preparing their response to his comments included a big "WTF?" next to it.

Basically it paints a picture that oversite of the funding by the Division is lacking. It's owed several million from local agencies for money that was given upfront, and not used. There's also about 15M in money that should be earmarked for Conservation & Rehabilition (read CLOSED TRAILS) that's not there.

The big thing that's hanging out there is the Gas Tax Study that's now been pushed back to Dec. of this year. Probably be released in January '06.

There was also a lot of contract illegalities (contract splitting), but that seems to be coming under control.

It pretty much says we are getting a raw deal on land purchases (esp. the proposed Riverside County SVRA). 5 to 1 mitigation at 30-60K per acre is a lot.

One of the commissioners notes that they should close the Division offices one day a week and send the employees there (all 110 of them) out into the field so they actually know, or can get a clue as to WTF is going on.

Overall it was a nice look into it. Of course the whole creating a Shared Vision is pretty on paper, but it's not going to happen when 1/2 the commission wants to close stuff down, and the other half wants to increase opportunities.

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This iis exactly what I mean by "Holding their feet to the fire". Great job guys digging this up.... It is something that can be repeated in every state. The bottom line is, legally, if they earmark funds, especially Federal funds, to a given project or program, they are obligated to spend that money on that project. This siphoning off of funds for pet projects cannot be allowed to continue. We as citizens have the right to demand they either repay the lost or misused funds, or prepare to stand before a federal judge. Some sort of oversight needs to be introduced as well.

 

It's funny you mention the Feds. They actually owe the state green sticker money. Basically this is what would happen:

The get a grant for say $250,000 for Project A. When they are done with Project A, they only spent $200,000. Well, the Division would tell them to keep the money and roll it over to Project B. What they are supposed to do, is send the balance back to the Division to go back into the pot.

This happened more with USFS, than with BLM.

The internal auditing of individual contracts is pretty much non-existant.

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