Did you know that the state of Michigan's MDOT audits go back as far as 1997? That is 18 years ago. Does that show that MDOT has a problem with quality control?

Really, is MDOT still asking for more money?

According to an article in the Lansing State Journal, we have a problem, Lansing.

The state auditor’s reported failures by MDOT to follow the state of Michigan laws and its own internal policies.

And they are asking for more money?

At least we have some state representatives looking out for the taxpayers interest. Rep. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) was quoted as saying, "We can't let this go on.

"Before we ask people for more money, we most definitely ought to be able to assure them that it is going to the right place and will be used well and not misrepresent the facts when the department is audited," Theis continued.

The latest audit released in February of this year determined MDOT was "not effective" in overseeing warranties on Michigan road and bridge construction projects.

The following are some of the more serious findings in the state's latest audit:

  • The cost of road repairs for warrantied projects could shift from contractors to the state because MDOT sometimes failed to ensure contractors completed corrective actions.
  • The cost of repairs could shift to the state because MDOT did not ensure timely and complete inspections of warrantied road and bridge projects or document inspections or notifications to contractors.
  • On two projects, warranties expired without MDOT notifying a contractor that corrective work was required. In the part of MDOT's warranty database that lists whether corrective action was required, the entry was changed from "Yes" to "No."
  • In response to the three earlier audits, MDOT promised to do better only to have auditors circle back years later and discover MDOT's remedies were ineffective or not applied.

Last week Gov. Rick Snyder accepted the audits' quality-assurance findings and pledged to address them.

Now, I understand that there are going to be problems in large bureaucratic organizations — especially government. The question you must ask yourself is, "How are we supposed to approve giving more money to an agency that has not effectively addressed their own problems going back as far as 1997?"

Do we just give this agency the money and hope they spend it well, because our infrastructure needs repair?

Why have not the politicians been watching out for our interest for the last 18 years?

Should they not have addressed these concerns earlier?

What are your thoughts about this?

Let’s discuss this today on my show The Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.

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