State Auditor outlines recent audits and requests budget changes to support performance reviews

Allison Ball, Kentucky state auditor, told the Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government the auditor’s office released 457 audits in 2024 and is preparing a budget request to restore a performance-audits unit and to align appropriation language with restricted funding for the next biennium.

“This is really a preview of what we're gonna be asking for for the next budget cycle,” Ball said, summarizing work completed in 2024 and items now under way. She told members the office conducted 424 county audits and 29 state audits last year and completed four special examinations, several of which prompted broader action or legal review.

The nut graf: Ball emphasized that limited staff and resources constrain the office’s work and that restoring a performance-audits unit would allow staff to review efficiency and effectiveness across state programs. She asked the subcommittee to consider requests that would let the office perform more in-house work and better match restricted revenue to appropriation amounts.

Ball described several recent or ongoing special examinations. A Department of Juvenile Justice performance review revealed “worrying conditions” that prompted a federal civil-rights investigation and related litigation, she said. The office’s review of Salyersville (Sollersville) Water Works and an Elkhorn City examination were cited as models local governments and utilities could use to correct practices. Ball also said the School Facilities Assistance Fund review, required by recent legislation, has been completed and sent to the General Assembly.

Ball said the auditor’s office launched an audit of kinship care funding after a bill expanded eligibility for relatives and “fictive kin” caring for children; the governor’s office estimated the bill would cost $20 million after it was signed, and Ball said her staff are reviewing records to determine what funds exist and whether additional appropriation may be necessary. “We are currently reviewing that right now to determine what money is available, or if there needs to be more money appropriated,” she said, adding she hoped to release the audit before the end of the legislative session.

On budget requests, Ball asked that the appropriation language match restricted-fund amounts to avoid recurring conflicts between the two numbers. She also said the office intends to request restoring an office of performance audits to permit targeted reviews of program efficiency and effectiveness similar to work requested in Washington, D.C.

The auditor said staffing and resources determine how many audits can be performed in-house versus contracted out, and that the office will present more detailed budget figures as the biennial cycle proceeds.

Ending: Ball directed members to the auditor’s publicly posted reports for last year’s released audits and said additional details on the 2026–27 budget request will follow as the office finalizes its proposals.