Watchdog for state government

Since its creation in 1975, the state Legislative Audit Council has recommended efficiencies and cost savings worth many millions to the benefit of taxpaying South Carolinians. The state should be proud that the LAC's work has been acknowledged as the best in the nation.

The 2008 Excellence in Evaluation Award from the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society specifically recognizes the agency's good work for the last four years. But the LAC's accomplishments extend nearly to its founding.

In 1977, the agency scored its first coup when it found some $40 million in public money improperly stowed in state agency slush funds. Because of the LAC, the money was used to help balance the state budget in a tight fiscal year.

That $40 million, incidentally, is roughly what it has cost the state to operate the relatively small agency since its inception. The impressive savings it has achieved in the following years could be considered gravy for the taxpayers.

The 2006 report on the state Department of Transportation was one of its highest-profile audits. It took more than a year to complete and helped achieve major savings, and a partial reorganization of the agency.

Its findings of contract mismanagement, nepotism and favoritism were decried by leading officials at the DOT. But eventually legislative hearings fully validated the LAC's conclusions that millions had been misspent by an agency that failed the accountability test in a variety of ways.

The Audit Council's recommendations for cutting costs and improving state government have brought about important gains in auto insurance and utility regulation, to the benefit of consumers.

Other audits have resulted in cuts to travel expenses for state employees, savings on agency cell phones and the sale of surplus state property. One audit resulted in sharp reductions in the size of the state's air fleet, which one auditor privately described as "larger than the air force of Guatemala." The LAC repeatedly has urged the state to adopt a better system of replacing its decrepit school bus fleet.

The LAC's audit of former University of South Carolina President James B. Holderman's misuse of foundation funds was instrumental in his removal from office.

One of the agency's finest moments came with its 1983 audit of the Department of Mental Health, which uncovered frightful abuses of residents in state facilities. Comprehensive reforms followed after further legislative and agency scrutiny.

Unfortunately, not all of the improvements recommended by the LAC have been realized. That's because legislative action is frequently required, and sometimes there are political and parochial barriers that derail the LAC's common-sense proposals.

That's been evident in the area of higher education, where the Audit Council has criticized duplication in the state's over-large system of state-supported colleges and universities.

And occasionally its findings have struck a nerve with lawmakers and other high-ranking officials, who then prove less than enthusiastic about providing the agency with an adequate budget. Fortunately, the Audit Council has its champions in the Legislature, most notably Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who has supported its efforts during his long legislative career.

The agency had been led throughout its existence by George Schroeder, now the longest-serving head of any comparable agency in the United States. The recent award is an acknowledgement of his contribution to better government in the Palmetto State.

With a staff of 20, the LAC has a limited capacity to scour state government for inefficiencies and wrongdoing. But its mere existence serves as a warning to agencies that might face its gimlet eye. The LAC's enviable record of achievement has continually strengthened its watchdog reputation during its years of good service to South Carolina.