Jim Zeigler’s annual report reveals minimal losses of state property
An annual audit of Alabama’s state property revealed the state had minimal losses in 2018, just .0864% of total state assets. State Auditor Jim Zeigler’s staff conducted a property inventory of 45 agencies in the 2018 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. According to Zeigler’s annual report, 35 agencies scored perfect audits, with all items of state property accounted for. 10 agencies had losses of 206 items valued at depreciated cost of $376,322.76. Zeigler’s office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide with 238,557 total assets. Typical items are state vehicles, computers and furniture. “The new safeguards we are putting into place are paying off with less loss of state property. Accountability works and re-pays for its costs many times over.” Zeigler said. Zeigler was elected to a second term as State Auditor Nov. 6. This is his final term, as he is term-limited.
More taxpayer money goes down the drain, nearly $200k in state property lost in Q3 2018
According to Alabama’s 2018 Q3 Loss Report, state agencies were unable to account for nearly $200,000 of state property in the latest quarter. Compiled by State Auditor Jim Zeigler — whose office is tasked with providing accountability to the taxpayers of Alabama by maintaining accurate records of all personal property valued at $500 and above by conducting property and equipment audits for all 176 agencies statewide — the report reveals 81 items were lost in Q3 alone. Released Sept. 5, Zeigler’s report cited stolen computers and wrecked state vehicles atop the list of losses. “The total loss to the state, and thus to taxpayers, was $199,689.09 from 81 assets with a depreciated value of $108,345.50 due to the age of some of the items,” Zeigler said. Forty items, half of the losses, were categorized as lost — no one is able to explain where these items were or what happened to them. “This is concerning,” stated Zeigler. He believes the losses are “unacceptable.” There were 33 items stolen, some from offices and others from employee vehicles or residences. Eight items were destroyed. Five of those were wrecked vehicles, totaling a whopping $118,874.30. Three items were broken and thrown out without completing the proper paperwork to scrap the items. Breakdown of the losses Burglary/theft: 34 items Purchase price: $44,924.16 Lost: 39 items Purchase price: $34,313.63 Destroyed: 8 items Purchase price: $120,451.30 “One of our biggest problems is that not all agencies hold employees accountable for missing items. Items reported as stolen require a police report,” explained Zeigler. “For all items, whether stolen, lost or destroyed, the agency director must decide whether negligence was involved on the part of the responsible employee. When agency directors deem negligence is involved, they are required to seek repayment from the employee. However, if the employee is no longer employed with the state, there is no recourse for restitution.” Zeigler continued, “The way current law is written, when the Auditor’s Office finalizes a property audit and there are assets reported as lost, stolen or destroyed, a report is sent to the Attorney General’s Office to investigate further. Responses from the AG’s Office usually state that the dollar amount of the losses isn’t great enough to offset the cost associated with investigation and recovery to the state, so no further action is taken.” “Once my office completes an audit, I have no enforcement powers,” he said. Holding agencies accountable Zeigler says he may introduce a bill in the 2019 regular legislative session to give enforcement powers of the state audits to the State Auditor rather than another agency. “Unless something changes, no one will be held accountable for the losses that result from negligence by employees. That is not acceptable,” Zeigler said Thursday. “Not enforcing the audits eliminates the deterrent effect.”
State auditor Jim Zeigler trying to block closure of surplus property site
As Gov. Robert Bentley moves to close a state-run surplus materials site in northern Alabama amid budget cuts and austerity in Montgomery, State Auditor Jim Zeigler is again playing the role of perennial thorn in the governor’s side. Zeigler announced Tuesday morning he will work to block the closure of the site in Eva, Alabama, which he says would “cost the state money instead of saving” state funds. Zeigler, whose idiosyncratic statewide-elected office is akin to that of an ombudsman or public accountant, says the closure is unnecessary. He claims it’s being done out of spite after the Legislature passed only part of Bentley’s tax increase proposals amid looming budget deficits earlier this year. “The state has almost two billion dollars in property paid for by taxpayers. That is a huge area of state government for the Bentley administration to be using as a political football,” said Zeigler. Bentley’s office recently announced it will shutter the facility, which is designed to process and dispose of surplus state property, and consolidate it with a similar state enterprise based in Montgomery. The state auditor did not elaborate on specifics of what a move to block the Eva closure might look like, other than to declare his opposition and say he will work to stop it. “I am looking at legal and political options to block the Eva closing,” said Zeigler on Tuesday.
