An Audit Report on The Department of Transportation's Management of State Highway Fund
March 2003
Report Number 03-021
Overall Conclusion
Improving the accuracy of forecasts of the State Highway Fund's (Fund 6) lowest daily balances would help the Department of Transportation (Department) maximize funds available for transportation projects. Between September 1999 and September 2002, forecasts of lowest daily balances three months into the future differed from the actual amounts by an average of 258 percent. The Department has proposed increasing the target for the lowest daily balance by $200 million, which decreases funds available for new transportation projects. A more reliable forecasting methodology would allow the Department to keep its current, lower target, making the $200 million difference between the targets available for new transportation projects.
The Department is substantially complying with the capital budget provisions of the General Appropriations Act for the 2002-2003 biennium. As of December 2002, the Department had not spent or obligated $190.3 million of the $245 million capital budget appropriated to it for the 2002-2003 biennium. The Department will have to increase its capital budget spending rate by more than 675 percent to exhaust the capital budget by fiscal year end. Any unspent or unobligated capital funds at the end of the 2002-2003 biennium can be re-appropriated in the next biennium for highway construction and maintenance projects.
Delays in implementing SiteManager, a new automated construction administration system, will cost the Department at least an estimated $2.9 million over the Departments original budget for the project. The delays inhibit the Department's ability to realize efficiencies in contractor administration that are expected to result from SiteManager's replacement of four existing systems. Full implementation is more than four years behind the Department's original schedule.
Key Facts and Findings
- With Improved Forecasting and Planning, the Department Could Make More of
Fund 6 Available for Transportation Projects
- The Department's Spending on Capital Assets Substantially Complies with
State Law
- The Department Should Improve Its Management of Information Technology Resources
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