My assignment to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee has given me the unique opportunity to delve into the inner workings of California state government. Recently an investigation completed by the California State Auditors Office crossed my desk or inbox as the case may be. This report concluded that poor internal controls in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities are responsible for several instances of overpayment to employees for inmate supervision.
From March 2008 through February 2009 the State Auditor found five of the six facilities examined overpaid employees who did not meet the requirement for extra pay totaling a lost to the state of $34,512. Using this data it was concluded by the State Auditor as much as $588,512 was overpaid statewide during the same twelve-month period.
This is exactly the kind of waste the state cannot afford right now. Occurrences like these in previous years were a nuisance but could be considered budget dust, money not amounting enough to be concerned about, but now when we are cutting deeply into the Healthcare and Social Services of the most vulnerable of our state’s citizenry every penny counts. Overpaying employees because a facility and supervisors could not be bothered to ensure its own protocols are being followed is lazy in the best of times and theft from those who truly need it now when the state is in crisis.
It is my hope that these errors, having been brought to light, will be corrected by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations. It is very difficult for me to understand why every state department has not taking responsibility for its budget in this time of economic crisis to ensure they are not wasting the little revenue the state still has available.
It is time for all those charged with governance of California to take responsibility for improving the current circumstances. This duty rests squarely on the shoulders of the civil servants and state workers as much as it does the heads of departments and elected officials. If we in the legislature are working so hard to save their jobs the least we can ask is that they do them.
There is no magic wand to be waved to solve California’s problems. It is and always has been the greatness of the people of California that make our state such a desirable place to live; their drive and determination for excellence made us great and will again all we need to do is ask. I am asking now join me to make California the Golden State once more.
April 6th, 2010 at 12:00 am
We could let the prisoners out and put the guards in those cells, hiring the prisoners to watch over them. They will do it for less than half the pay.
OR..we could require that every household in the state own a firearm. Then the crime rate will be reduced to near zero.
Can’t have that, too many jails would need to close down. Why work yourself out of a perfectly good job?
WWSD…What would Spartacus Do?