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Saturday, November 21, 2009
Audit Uncovers Pork Problems
By Dan Boyd
Journal Capitol Bureau
SANTA FE — Poor record-keeping, errors in reporting expenditures and unforeseen project costs continue to plague New Mexico's capital outlay spending, says a report by the Legislative Finance Committee.
A review of four state public works around New Mexico revealed that several of the projects didn't have time limits on construction in place, and, in one case, a record of contractor billing rates could not be located.
Another project, a $15.1 million parking garage at the state Capitol in Santa Fe, ended up costing $2.6 million more than expected, due largely to issues of architectural conformity in the historic city.
A sum of $10,000 was also paid to a firm that submitted a bid but wasn't chosen to build the parking garage, the LFC report found.
"We don't want to micromanage these particular projects, but we want to maintain oversight," said Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe, the chairman of the LFC.
The issue of capital outlay spending has increasingly come under the microscope as state legislators and Gov. Bill Richardson grapple with a budget deficit that was projected to be $650 million before a package of spending cuts and one-time fixes were enacted earlier this month.
Since 2003, more than $1.4 billion in state funding appropriated for infrastructure projects statewide has gone unspent.
To remedy the problem, the LFC report suggested creating a committee to oversee capital outlay spending, setting up a division within state government to monitor such appropriations and establishing a special fund to pay for capital outlay audits.
In addition to the Capitol parking structure, the other projects reviewed by the LFC were an extension of Albuquerque's Bosque Trail, renovations to Zuni High School and Zuni Middle School and a new water system in Lumberton.
The projects were selected for review because all represent large, multi-year appropriations.
In the case of the Bosque Trail, which is envisioned as a 40-mile trail eventually stretching from Bernalillo to Belen, only about $460,000 from a $3 million appropriation in 2005 has been spent.
Of the funds that were spent to develop a trail blueprint, the Mid-Region Council of Governments, the agency tasked with the job, was initially unable to provide written records regarding contractor billing rates, the LFC report found.
The billing rates fluctuated over time by as much as 20 percent.
Meanwhile, 37 percent of the money that was spent by the Mid-Region Council of Governments was spent on salaries and benefits, the LFC report found.
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