YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

April 11, 2003

Report No. 2003-34

The following concerns were noted as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Office of Governor.

The operations of the Office of Governor have been supplemented by appropriations of other state agencies, thus circumventing the appropriation process as established by the General Assembly.  The Office of Governor receives appropriations from the General Revenue Fund-State for the operating costs of the Governor's office and mansion.

While it appears the appropriations are intended to cover the basic operating costs of the office, we noted various employees within the Governor's office that were budgeted to and paid from appropriations of other state agencies.  These employees were physically located in and supervised by the Governor's office, and performed duties attendant to programs and functions of the Office of Governor; however, the salaries of these employees were paid from appropriations of other state agencies.

At various times, up to ten individuals were paid partially by other state agencies, with the remainder being paid by the Office of Governor.  These employees prepared time sheets for the Office of Governor.  While some of the activities performed by these employees were related to the departments which paid their salaries, it appears their primary job responsibilities were functions associated with the Office of Governor.  In addition, up to three individuals were fully paid from appropriations of the Office of Administration (OA).

It appears the costs of some of the Governor's plane flights are also being supplemented by appropriations of other state agencies.  A review of the Governor's flights, through OA Flight Operations, during calendar year 2001 showed a marked change in how the Office of Governor paid for flights from the first half to the second half of the year.  Throughout 2001, other state agencies increasingly paid the costs of the Governor's flights.

The review included 113 flights, totaling $117,692, for the Governor after his inauguration in January 2001 through the end of the calendar year.  In the first half of the year, the Office of Governor paid 95 percent of the flight costs, and two other agencies, the Department of Economic Development and Department of Higher Education, paid the remaining costs.  However, in the second half of the year, the Office of Governor only paid 59 percent of the flight costs and 12 other state agencies paid the remaining costs.  In addition, in the second half of the year, other state agencies paid the entire cost of 29 percent of the total flights transporting the Governor.

According to members of the Governor's staff, it was normal procedure for a state agency to pay the entire cost of the Governor's flight when the purpose of the flight had to do with agency issues.  However, it appears that other agencies paying the entire flight costs did not become "normal procedure" until after June 2001.

The Office of Governor needs to improve the accountability over the functions held at the mansion to ensure public funds are spent appropriately.  The mansion's calendar of events and other documentation did not include sufficient information to determine the purpose or the source of funding for the various functions.

The calendar of events and other documentation, maintained by the mansion staff, did not include the purpose of the function (such as official, political, or personal), nor the source of funding for the functions (such as Missouri Mansion Preservation, Inc., other state agencies, mansion appropriations, or private/political entities).  Without this level of detail, it is impossible to determine if all mansion functions were a reasonable, necessary, and prudent use of public funds.

Although the Office of Governor maintains invoices for mansion expenditures from state funds, these invoices do not constitute adequate and/or complete records of the purpose and funding of all mansion functions.  A clear, documented purpose is necessary to ensure public funds are spent appropriately.

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