Kentucky Auditor Uncovers Waste and Abuse of Public Trust

by Kathy Groob Publisher, ElectWomen Magazine

When Crit Luallen was first elected to the state auditor’s position in Kentucky most people could not explain the role of the state auditor’s office.  Generally not the most exciting or high profile elected office position, the auditor has become somewhat of a hero in Kentucky.  From county officials to public associations, Crit Luallen and her team of auditors has uncovered millions of dollars in government fraud and questionable spending–everything from stealing to strip club credit card expenses. 

“Boards primarily funded by public dollars must be ultimately responsible to the taxpayers,” she told the officials. “That’s where we, as public leaders, have to step up and be sure that the leadership of those boards … have the tools they need to provide the proper oversight,” Luallen told the Herald-Leader recently. 

Lack of controls of appropriate spending by the Blue Grass Airport, the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) are among Luallen’s recent discoveries of malfeasance. 

The inappropriate spending confirmed by the audits includes excessive and extravagant spending by directors and other high-ranking officials.  With the assistance of open records and investigative reporting by the Herald-Leader newspaper, it was discovered that KACo executives spent $600,000 on travel, meals and other expenses in two years. Nearly $900 was charged on KACo-issued credit cards to two Louisville strip clubs and a Lexington escort service from May 2007 to February 2008.

“The issue was what kind of controls were in place to make sure that the dollars were being spent in the most effective and efficient way,” said Luallen.  The auditor uncovered over $500,000 in questionable spending by the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. 
 Luallen’s website states that this reflects a culture of “shameful” and excessive spending at regional airport which personally benefited the former executive director and top management.

In Kentucky, the Auditor of Public Accounts was established as an impartial auditor entirely independent of state administration and charged the office with the responsibility to audit the accounts and financial transactions of all spending agencies of the Commonwealth.

“The state auditor serves a critical role in government by conducting a combination of financial and performance audits that serve to provide independent, unbiased, reliable and timely information to the public,” said the executive director of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers, Kinney Poynter.   “Typically, the state auditor performs work on a variety of topics, including determination of the accuracy of the state’s reported financial condition and operating results, analysis of whether federal funds were spent in compliance with federal law and regulations, and identification of the operating effectiveness and efficiency of government programs.”

“Frequently referred to as the government watchdog, the state auditor also plays a critical role in detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in the myriad of state government programs,” added Poynter.

Kinney Poynter explained “in many cases, state auditors also provide these types of audit services for local governments, serving the citizens at the local level as well.”

Crit Luallen is one of just eight female state auditors elected and serving in the United States today.  Roughly 16% of state auditors are female and this closely mirrors the statistics for women in elected office in the state legislatures and statewide office across America.  73 women currently hold statewide office* including seven female governors (soon to be six when Sarah Palin resigns at the end of July).

For more information about Crit Luallen, visit: http://www.auditor.ky.gov/

For the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers, visit: http://www.nasact.org

*Courtesy of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.