Purpose

To determine whether the Department of Transportation is collecting all lease and permit revenues it is owed. The audit covers the period January 2008 through May 2012.

Background

The Department of Transportation (Department) has land that it does not use continuously. Interested parties can pay a fee for a permit to use such land temporarily. The Department is responsible for billing permit holders and collecting the amount due. As of May 2012, the Department was owed a total of $6 million in lease and permit revenues, including $2.4 million between two and six years past due and another $1.4 million at least six years past due. In total, 195 permits were more than 30 days past due.

Key Findings

• The Department is not effectively collecting all unpaid lease and permit fees. Of 45 sampled permits which had outstanding balances, no action was taken on eight. These eight permits had a total of $417,000 outstanding at the time of our review.
• When initial actions to collect revenues were unsuccessful, the Department generally did not refer permits to the Office of the Attorney General. From January 2008 to January 2012, the Department referred only two permits, with a total outstanding of $61,530. We identified 61 permits with a total outstanding of $1.2 million that should have been referred during that period.

Key Recommendations

• Provide the regions with detailed permit billing information and guidance on which permit holders are delinquent and require follow-up action.
• Refer delinquent accounts to the Office of the Attorney General as required.

Other Related Audit/Report of Interest

Department of Transportation: Review of Real Property Holdings for Disposal (2010-S-48)