DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — State watchdogs want to know why an Ohio
state agency provides so many purchasing cards to its employees after
an Ohio inspector general’s report found that one agency employee used a
card to pay for his home heating for years.
The Ohio Inspector
General’s report has called for a review of the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources policy, the Dayton Daily News (http://bit.ly/RtvTLl )
reported.
The
purchasing cards are much like credit cards and carry the Visa logo.
They allow state employees to buy goods and services needed for their
jobs without having to request purchase orders, and they save the state
from having to issue individual checks. Vendors are immediately paid,
and Ohio pays the bank that issued the card after receiving a statement.
There
have been 4,045 purchasing cards issued for the state’s 54,049
employees, and only one agency has even half the 1,216 cards issued by
the Department of Natural Resources issues, according to the newspaper.
State watchdogs are questioning why the department provides purchasing
cards to nearly a third of its 1,850 employees.
The inspector
general’s report was issued last week after a finding that a supervisor
at a fish hatchery in northern Ohio’s Erie County had used a card to pay
for propane to heat his home on hatchery grounds for more than a decade
starting in 2000 — a practice that cost the state $5,163 since 2004.
The report calls for the department to review the necessity of issuing
cards to so many employees and strengthen the review process for
purchasing cards.
"The bigger concern grows out of what happened
here," Deputy Inspector General Carl Enslen said. "There was a great
example of ODNR having a tough time managing the oversight of the use of
the card in this particular instance."
The only agency with even
half the 1,216 cards that the Department of Natural Resources issues is
the Department of Transportation, which has 743 cards and 5,371
employees, the newspaper reported. Job and Family Services has 3,698
employees and 139 cards.
A spokeswoman for the Department of
Natural Resources says that agency is reviewing the inspector general’s
investigation, which the department requested, and cooperated with the
investigation of the hatchery employee.
"We also conducted an internal investigation which led to his termination in
June," spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle said.
The
employee was charged in January with theft, but the charges were
dropped in June, McCorkle said. The employee told state investigators
that a supervisor told him he could charge the state for propane, though
he was unable to name the supervisor or when he was told that,
according to the inspector general’s report.
McCorkle said Monday
that the requested review has begun and the agency has 60 days to
formally respond to the inspector general’s office.
The Department of Natural Resources is responsible for the state’s nature
conservation efforts, wildlife and natural resources.
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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.