The Associated Press

 

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Department of Transportation was wrong to have bought $175,000 in office supplies over a three-year period from a vendor not included in the omnibus state office supply contract, the State Auditor's Office said Tuesday.

 

Responding to an allegation about purchases in the department's testing and materials unit, auditors found 595 purchases from the vendor between April 2003 and August 2006, violating purchasing and contract rules.

 

The audit report did not identify the vendor.

 

The purchases should have been made with an approved vendor that had agreed to a term contract, in which items are sold to state agencies at set prices to avoid numerous deals and create cost savings.

 

A review of 58 DOT purchase orders questioned by auditors determined the state was charged $3,680 more than had the department used approved vendors, the report found.

 

The unit supervisor told auditors he did business with the unapproved vendor because it was faster and DOT hadn't emphasized term contracts until 2006. But he also acknowledged knowing company leaders and having a social relationship with an employee at the firm, the report said.

 

"We believe these relationships may create, at a minimum, the appearance of a conflict of interest," State Auditor Les Merritt's office wrote to Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett.

 

Using term contract vendors is mandatory under state contract rules and should be followed, according to the report's recommendations. Training for Transportation Department purchasing also should be improved, the report said. Tippett largely agreed with the recommendations.