The General Assembly's Office of Legislative Audits estimated the state wasted at least $500,000 on the phones because of numerous flaws. At least 6,700 state employees had government-paid cell phones during fiscal year 2002, costing the state $5.3 million.
"It's pretty ugly," Democratic state Sen. Ulysses Currie, chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, said Tuesday. "It's a boondoggle."
The audit found that state employees are supposed to pay for personal calls, but state agencies generally didn't seek reimbursement. Also, a test of 74 high volume users showed the state paid $164,000 for calls that would have cost about $34,000 if the agencies had switched to plans with higher limits on calls.
In another case, the state could have saved about $200,000 on 440 phones from another vendor by changing to newer plans.
"There was no accountability on the use of the cells phones; there was no accountability on what we were getting for our money from these vendors," Currie said.
The audit report said the Department of Budget and Management "is in the process of updating its policy, enhancing its oversight procedures, and it intends to re-bid the contracts later this year."
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