No surprise here!
An audit of the Columbia River Crossing found $17 million in excess or questionable spending, including larger-than-usual profit markups to project consultants and work that wasn’t authorized by contract in advance.
The report from the Washington State Auditor’s Office, released Wednesday, “did not identify any financial misconduct or abuse.” But it called for the Washington State Department of Transportation to reconsider policies and procedures that resulted in at least some of the misspent money on the now-defunct project, according to the audit.
The biggest chunk of questionable expenses was $12.3 million that went to firms with undisclosed overhead and profit markups, according to the report.
Another $2.3 million was added to two contract task orders months after the orders were completed, according to the audit. Those changes were made without authorization, though the extra work was found to be consistent with the original contract.
And the primary consultant on the project, David Evans and Associates, was overpaid by $1.45 million because of higher-than-usual markups, the report found.
CRC audit finds $17M in excess, questionable costs | The Columbian
Best comments below
Ben Brewer · Top Commenter
What
could that 17 million have been used for? Clark County Food Bank, local
schools, paying our thin police department perhaps? Jim's nonchalant
response is very telling. EVERY tax dollar is valuable and shame on Jim
for his lack of outrage on the issue. I just don't understand how
supporters of the CRC can justify the project any longer. I agree that
this project would have ended up costing WAY more than 4 Billion.
Alex Reinhold · Top Commenter · Battle Ground, Washington
Since
there is no bridge being built I would agree the total amount spent was
wasted. The politico's and consultants made a lot out of this deal and
the whole while the people who would actually use the bridge continue to
get screwed. And what's worse is there are some folks who are trying to
bring it back again because they think we are all so stupid we will
fall for the same line of garbage again.
Alan Watts
17
Million Dollars! Pilfered. That would be 170 YEARS of Benton's salary
at Environmental Services. Bet the 'one hobby horse' editor still
experiences a brain freeze and will not blast the cronies for giving and
taking 17 Million! Has anyone else had enough of "100 Grand" a year to
Benton when Millions for nada goes brainfreeze!
Ed Ruttledge · Top Commenter · Vancouver, Washington
Now - if we could only start the indictment proceeding of Patricia McCaig...
Brad Fresch · Top Commenter · Battle Ground, Washington
Brad Fresch · Top Commenter · Battle Ground, Washington
So
this is the result of the $250,000 audit of the CRC project by the
Washington State Audit Department? The scope truly was cut back,
evidently to bare bones (see link below). To say I'm disappointed with
the performance and results of Washington State's audit department is an
understatement. In my opinion, this was an additional waste of
$250,000 of tax payer money. I would have preferred to have an
independent audit performed by someone such as Tiffany Couch and her
team.
I appreciate the basic intent of the audit by Senator Benton, but it was a gross error to ask a Washington State department to audit this fiasco. I could have easily predicted the outcome of this audit months ago with relative accuracy. I have no crystal ball, but this situation was only too obvious to those of us that watch our taxes constantly squandered by ineffective government agencies. I wish Senator Benton would have required the $250,000 to be spent first on an independent, non-government audit, and then reviewed by the Washington State Audit Department. This is just another example of why you can't have the fox guarding the chicken house; guess what happens every time? No accountability, no reprimand, no reimbursement...and again, more questions than answers. Ridiculous is the only appropriate word I can add.
http://www.columbian.com/
I appreciate the basic intent of the audit by Senator Benton, but it was a gross error to ask a Washington State department to audit this fiasco. I could have easily predicted the outcome of this audit months ago with relative accuracy. I have no crystal ball, but this situation was only too obvious to those of us that watch our taxes constantly squandered by ineffective government agencies. I wish Senator Benton would have required the $250,000 to be spent first on an independent, non-government audit, and then reviewed by the Washington State Audit Department. This is just another example of why you can't have the fox guarding the chicken house; guess what happens every time? No accountability, no reprimand, no reimbursement...and again, more questions than answers. Ridiculous is the only appropriate word I can add.
http://www.columbian.com/
Ben Grobe-Heintz · Top Commenter · California Polytechnic State University
So
the audit found no criminal wrongdoing and no negligence. What a
surprise. It isn't even clear that we didn't get our money's worth out
of the lions share of the 17M; it went to firms who weren't required by
WADOT to disclose the markup.
This is a teaching moment for WADOT, not a punishable one. Of course we will learn how not to get jerked around by contractors on a project of this scale.
Pay attention to the message Ms Rivers leaves us with; Any bridge over the Columbia would have exposed these very problems with WADOT contracting policies. Thus she is saying the people of our state don't have the ability to build projects on this scale because we will be outsmarted by contractors. Reject Ms Rivers and her pathetic message.
This is a teaching moment for WADOT, not a punishable one. Of course we will learn how not to get jerked around by contractors on a project of this scale.
Pay attention to the message Ms Rivers leaves us with; Any bridge over the Columbia would have exposed these very problems with WADOT contracting policies. Thus she is saying the people of our state don't have the ability to build projects on this scale because we will be outsmarted by contractors. Reject Ms Rivers and her pathetic message.
Tom Sharples · Follow · Top Commenter · President & CTO at Qorvus Systems, Inc.
“Yes,
there’s been some mistakes made. Yes, some money is missing as far as
(being) overpaid,” said Moeller, who supported the CRC. “But all in all,
the audit didn’t identify any particular financial abuse and
misconduct."
Well, Jim, we here in the 49th district, sure are glad to hear how little importance you assign to over $17M in "excess and questionable spending" when it's the taxpayers hard-earned money. Are you as cavalier with your personal funds? I'll bet not. But oh what the hell, it's only someone else's money. Nothing to see here, move along please.
Isn't it way past time for a change?
Well, Jim, we here in the 49th district, sure are glad to hear how little importance you assign to over $17M in "excess and questionable spending" when it's the taxpayers hard-earned money. Are you as cavalier with your personal funds? I'll bet not. But oh what the hell, it's only someone else's money. Nothing to see here, move along please.
Isn't it way past time for a change?
Rep. Moeller's complacency may not be especially surprising (to those of
us who've followed this mess with the discernment to recognize it as
such). But it's still damning.
While yes, Tricky Jim did admit that "...there’s been some mistakes made. Yes, some money is missing as far as (being) overpaid." So much for faint praise.
Now for Moeller's damnable complacency: “But all in all, the audit didn’t identify any particular financial abuse and misconduct. I think that’s good news.”
What about the _profound_ "abuse and misconduct" inherent in the CRC's misbegotten design, both officially acknowledged (that unproven bridge architecture that had to be dispensed with, that bridge height too low) and officially ignored (chief among these any kind of _serious_ cost/benefit analysis from the perspective of the car commuters who would be the project's predominant users)? Such obliviousness -- due to either mental sloth and obdurate arrogance -- caused TENS of millions of dollars more to be squandered in a "planning" process that was too heavy on self-delusion and PR propoganda and way, way too light on anything like critical thought!
All this brings to mind that famous Al Pacino line from the 1979 movie _And Justice For All_... http://m.youtube.com/
While yes, Tricky Jim did admit that "...there’s been some mistakes made. Yes, some money is missing as far as (being) overpaid." So much for faint praise.
Now for Moeller's damnable complacency: “But all in all, the audit didn’t identify any particular financial abuse and misconduct. I think that’s good news.”
What about the _profound_ "abuse and misconduct" inherent in the CRC's misbegotten design, both officially acknowledged (that unproven bridge architecture that had to be dispensed with, that bridge height too low) and officially ignored (chief among these any kind of _serious_ cost/benefit analysis from the perspective of the car commuters who would be the project's predominant users)? Such obliviousness -- due to either mental sloth and obdurate arrogance -- caused TENS of millions of dollars more to be squandered in a "planning" process that was too heavy on self-delusion and PR propoganda and way, way too light on anything like critical thought!
All this brings to mind that famous Al Pacino line from the 1979 movie _And Justice For All_... http://m.youtube.com/
Anna Miller · Top Commenter
What
an amazing piece of investigative reporting. NOT! Pretty late to the
party. Thanks to David Madore for hiring Forensic Accountant Tiffany
Couch and to her for her courage under fire to uncover the truth and to
Washington and Oregon state legislators
Carolyn Crain · Follow · Top Commenter · John Adams High SchoolSo
only approximately 10% of the funds were "technically mis-spent" and
therefore "Washington State Auditor’s Office “did not identify any
financial misconduct or abuse.” " is the reasonable conclusion? There
would be what then on the project which closed with no official drafted
to engineered standards for construction design only ideas and as Rep.
Armstrong so eloquently stated at the last oversight hearing in 2012 "a
cartoon drawing" to show for the money spent... $170 million
appropriately spent funds? Wow, what passes for good use of tax payers
dollars is astounding. I don't know about all of the readers out there
but I am disgusted at the lack of proper fiscal constraint and control
where the people's money is concerned. We work hard for our money and
we'd like to have gotten a decent design and moved towards a third crossing
out of this deal. Congestion relief should never have been removed from
the criteria of the design mandates. Let's do that legislative action
that I have been asking for and create permanent legislative oversight
of WSDOT. Then let's pass a decently orchestrated funding system for
transportation which includes a capital expenditure for a third crossing
over the Columbia river on the west side moving through traffic off of
the primary corridor and relieving congestion which is a problem when
commuting home from Oregon. It will also reduce the traffic accidents in
Portland further relieving their emergency services budgets. A
retrofitting process on the BNSF bridge will reduce the mandatory bridge
lift issue to just 4% of what occurs now and I believe would be the
final answer to the I-5 congestion issue. All of this could be done for
1/3rd the price tag of the Columbia River Crossing project which never
saw the backing even though it was pushed by the Vancouver city mayor
and our representatives in the 49th legislative district.
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