GA audit changes put cars on right path

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published May 26, 2008

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State agencies can expect a 15 percent increase in the fees they pay to use cars in the state fleet, Department of General Administration Director Linda Villegas Bremer said last week.

The increase is part of her agency's response to the first performance audit conducted under the 2005 initiative giving the state Auditor's Office power to measure government's bang-for-the-buck efficiency.

The March 2007 report said the state had some vehicles that were underused, charged agencies too little to cover costs, and could save money by paying cash for cars rather than making interest payments.

The higher rate in the 2009-11 budget covers two of those points Bremer told a legislative committee on audit review.

"This 15 percent rate covers our costs fully and allows us to acquire at least 10 percent of the vehicles with cash," she said, explaining the rate allows the agency to build a reserve of money that will be used to buy cars outright.

The new rates will still be lower than those offered by private car rental company Enterprise, or state universities, Bremer added.

The state motor pool spent $7.8 million in 2006 managing a fleet of 1,470 vehicles. The Department of General Administration oversees the motor pool, which pays for replacing about 280 vehicles a year.

Other agencies manage their own fleets, but the Liquor Control Board and some programs in the Department of Social and Health Services have turned theirs over to be managed by General Administration, Bremer said.

And General Administration is developing a pilot program to create a "self-managed pool" that would be more efficient for agencies in Tumwater, she said. "I'm really excited about not just what we were able to do with the state auditor's recommendations but how the agencies rallied around that."

Legislators complimented the work.

"Personally, I feel this was the most clear performance audit we had, with the clearest path to making changes. I feel you've done a good job," Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, said.

Other performance audits, like one on educational service districts, have been much more difficult to implement, she said.

Rep. Mark Miloscia, D-Federal Way, took time to note how General Administration fared in the latest audit on compliance with public records requests.

"You were the top agency in that audit. So congratulations," he told Bremer.