Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the NDOT Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State audit says Nevada Department of Transportation reduced contracting oversight, flags flight-operations FAA noncompliance
Summary
A state audit presented July 29 to the Executive Branch Audit Committee found the Nevada Department of Transportation has reduced oversight in contracting and payroll practices and flagged flight-operations practices that auditors say conflict with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
A state audit presented July 29 to the Executive Branch Audit Committee found the Nevada Department of Transportation has “reduced oversight in its contracting activities and other key processes” and identified personnel, payroll and flight-operations weaknesses that the auditors say risk noncompliance with federal rules.
"Our audit focused on the department's key processes and operations management," Executive Branch Auditor Melissa Gardner told the committee. She said the audit makes three recommendations: increase oversight of contracting and key processes, improve personnel and payroll practices, and enhance flight-operations policies and procedures.
The audit said the department lacked some formal regulations and in some cases relied on board resolutions instead of public rulemaking under the Administrative Procedures Act, and that the board is the sole oversight body for most contracting and construction activities. On personnel, auditors reported timekeeping issues, overtime-approval problems and excessive overtime that the report said could cost the state up to about $950,000 annually. The auditors also said some employees not covered by collective bargaining earned overtime in the same week as paid leave and that a small share of employees accounted for a disproportionate share of overtime in tested timesheets.
On flight operations, the audit said existing flight policies permit charging passengers and other state agencies for flight services and do not document trip purpose on flight manifests; auditors said those practices can conflict with Federal Aviation Administration rules for the department’s flight operations and recommended tightening policies to ensure flights are for official state business and federal aerial-survey rules are followed.
The committee's deputy attorney general cautioned members to limit discussion because litigation is pending related to NDOT. "It's a good flag," Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott said, and recommended that members route detailed questions offline so statements in the meeting are not used in litigation. Governor Lombardo and the auditor agreed that committee members could send individual questions to staff outside the meeting.
The presentation concluded with the auditors thanking department management; Transportation Director Tracy Larkin Thomason and NDOT staff were noted as available for follow-up outside the public meeting.
The audit is informational only; the committee did not take formal action at the meeting. The audit report lists the three recommendations and asks NDOT to pursue public rulemaking, tighten payroll oversight, and update flight-operations procedures to align with FAA rules.
