County auditor finds policy, funding and equity gaps in MSTIP audit; offers nine recommendations

County Auditor Christine Adams Swanberg presented a December 20, 2024 program audit on the Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP) to the Washington County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 21, finding the program lacks codified authority, policies and consistent financial safeguards.

The audit, carried out by the auditor’s office and senior management auditor Fiona Howell Earl, identified seven findings and issued nine recommendations ranging from drafting county code that authorizes MSTIP to improving cost forecasting and clarifying the county’s approach to equity in project selection. The report said the MSTIP 3 fund had a $301,000,000 modified expenditure budget in the current fiscal year.

Why it matters: MSTIP is the county’s principal local transportation funding program for major roads, and the audit says its structure and practices create financial and program risks — particularly as construction inflation and competing county priorities strain budgets.

The auditor framed the work as a risk assessment and described the report’s two objectives: to identify stakeholders’ perceptions of major risks to MSTIP and to determine whether those risks constituted audit findings that could be mitigated. The office surveyed county commissioners, city mayors, the Washington County coordinating committee (WCCC), members of the WCCC technical advisory committee, staff in Land Use and Transportation (LUT) and other stakeholders, receiving a 65% response rate.

Key findings and recommendations

- Lack of authorization…