Mischief and Mismanagement (with Taxpayers’ Money) in the Motor Pool of the Governor’s Office

What would happen to you if you borrowed your company’s car and, thanks to built-in tracking technology, were caught driving 113 mph?

Or how would your HR staff “dialogue” with you if the car’s mileage wasn’t properly logged, you had apparently used it for personal trips, then left it sitting in a garage, and when you did return it to the motor pool it had $3,500 in damage?

This isn’t a hypothetical question. These are actual cases of state employees, including former Chief of Staff to Gov. Ned Lamont, Jonathan Dach.

All of this comes to light in the latest detailed report from the Auditors of Public Accounts, a non-partisan, independent body appointed by the Legislature.

Their reports make for interesting reading, but little else: they have no enforcement powers or ability to penalize for wrongdoing.

Consider their report this past week on how the Governor’s Office is run:

• Of the three cars assigned to the office, mileage logs were not kept.

• The Governor’s Office had 92 laptop computers for their 30 employees.

• Time sheets for staffers were approved by superiors who had no direct knowledge of the employees’ work hours. In response to the audit, the Governor’s Office said they agreed with the findings and would try to do a better job. End of story.

Some of these matters require mandatory referral to the Office of Ethics, but there seems to be little enforcement happening there, the case of Jonathan Dach being a good example.

You’ll remember that Dach was the governor’s chief of staff, a $215,000 a year gig that was, as the Governor’s Office said, “a round the clock job.” Dach apparently spent a lot of that time driving, including 2,300 miles for personal trips — visiting the beach, restaurants, brew pubs and even a Dave Mathews concert, according to the audit.

Electronic tracking in another state-owned Ford Escape showed somebody once drove 113 mph on a trip from New London to Hartford. That’s illegal, even for a staffer in the Governor’s Office.

What did Ned Lamont have to say about all this?

“The people of Connecticut deserve transparency and accountability […] we need to lead by example,” he said last June. He added that he would seek reimbursement from Dach for personal use of the state car. But there’s been no further word on what, if anything, happened since Dach left his job in June.

As for the computers, $7,423 worth of laptops “could not be located.” But the governor’s staff added that as soon as a laptop is no longer under warranty, it’s replaced and the old model is given to interns for their use. Great. Blame the kids.

Regarding the time sheets for the $3,746,724 annual payroll for the office’s couple dozen staffers, the audit says “limited resources” in the office meant they had not adopted a formal timesheet approval process.

In an era of tight finances, it’s discouraging to read that the executive branch of state government, which claims that it wants to lead by example, has failed in its oversight of equipment and staff. It makes one wonder what’s happening in the other 88 agencies in our state, their 45,000-plus employees and 3,300-plus state vehicles.

And though they are lacking in any real power, kudos to the Auditors of Public Accounts for making all of this information public.