Audits Can Help
Legislators Make the Most of Available State Resources
Legislative
Post Audit issues a number of audits annually that point out potential ways to
control costs or bring in additional revenue. The table below lists savings, both
realized and potential, stemming from recommendations made by Legislative Post
Audit in fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006.
|
|
Realized |
Potential |
|
||
|
Fiscal Year |
Annual |
One-Time |
Annual |
One-Time |
Total |
|
2006 |
|
|
128,000 |
|
128,000 |
|
2005 |
|
1,080,000 |
2,000,000 |
|
1,080,000 |
|
2004 |
11,286,000 |
23 |
1,119,000 |
277,631 |
12,682,654 |
|
Total |
$11,286,000 |
$1,080,023 |
$3,247,000 |
$277,631 |
$15,890,654 |
As the table shows, in the last three fiscal years, Legislative Post Audit reports
have identified nearly $16 million in
opportunities to save money or increase revenues. More than $12 million of that amount has been realized so far. Here is a sampling of some of the recommended
savings in the past three fiscal years:
|
Audit |
Findings |
Estimated Savings or Revenue |
|
Medicaid Waivers:
Reviewing Differences in Rates and Hours of Service for Self-Directed and
Agency-Directed Care, Part I: The Department on Aging’s
Frail Elderly Waiver Program (July
2005) |
If Frail
Elderly waiver clients who self-direct their own attendant care services
received about the same number of volunteer hours as clients with
agency-directed care (who get about 17 more hours of volunteer services per
month), Kansas would save about $2 million each year in State funding. Total Medicaid savings (when both State and
federal shares are included) would be about $5 million each year. |
Yearly: $2,000,000 |
|
(February
2005) |
Most
bond-issuance costs for the STAR bonds issued in Wyandotte County were in
line with other similar bond issues we looked at, but we identified a number
of questionable practices related to the financing of the racetrack and
tourism district, including more than $1 million in unallowable uses of STAR
bond moneys, most of which was money the Unified Government withdrew from the
bond accounts to cover expenditures, but never spent. Almost all of the money has been repaid. |
One-time: $1,080,000 |
|
Tax Enforcement: Determining
Whether the Department of Revenue Is Collecting the Taxes Owed the State (October
2004) |
We
calculated that almost $627,000 was collected for every full-time equivalent
employee involved in collecting delinquent taxes from all tax types. Adding positions should result in more
collections. The 2005 Legislature
added 18 new positions. |
Yearly: $11,286,000 |
How We Counted the Savings:
We counted the savings or revenue increases as “realized” if we confirmed that the recommended change has taken place, even if the added income isn’t yet on the books. We show savings as “potential” if the recommended change has not yet been made. In either case, the estimates shown are conservative. For example, recurring savings are counted only for the first year they occur. Similarly, if the audit estimated a range of possible savings, we recorded the lowest value. These figures are updated as additional information becomes available.