The News & Observer
 

September 12, 2007

 

DOT overpaid contractor, auditor says

State Department of Transportation officials in Warren and Vance counties overpaid a contractor $27,295 for rental equipment used in road maintenance work, the state auditor's office said in a report today.

DOT policies allow payment only for the time rented trucks, motor graders and other equipment are actually being used for road maintenance work.

The overpayments occurred from 2003 to 2006.

An investigation by Les Merritt, the state auditor, found that the DOT maintenance engineer for the two counties improperly told employees to pay the contractor an extra $3,675 for time spent hauling rented equipment to the work site.

The maintenance office also incorrectly paid $21,620 for time the equipment was not being used, and $2,000 for a bill from the contractor that overstated the actual rental time by 16 hours. Merritt recommended that DOT attempt to recover the $27,295 in overpayments to the contractor, who was not named.

In a Sept. 5 reply to Merritt's Aug. 17 letter, Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett said "changes were made in Vance and Warren counties to correct this practice."

Employees were reminded about DOT policies for rental equipment payments, Tippett said, and the Attorney General's Office was asked to consider trying to recover the excessive payments.

The DOT employees responsible for the overpayments were not named, and there was no indication whether any of them had been disciplined.