Michigan Paper Investigates Travel Costs, Makes Surprising Findings

Michigan state employees are getting called out for little to no oversight on how much government bodies spend on work-related travel expenses.

In a recent investigation conducted by the Lansing State Journal found that high-level employees can travel at their leisure, costs covered by tricky evasion.

Researchers uncovered that most travel costs are skimmed over, inconsistencies in reported costs runs rampant, and some of the State Budget Office records have been disposed of.

There has been "no substantive effort to ensure what's being reported by individual departments is accurate or necessary," LSJ writes.

Sara Wurfel, spokesperson from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's office, told the Journal that all departments and separate entities are responsible for keeping track of expenses, and they do a good job of it.

"The agencies do a solid job of monitoring travel," she said. "Agencies understand their business and training needs and they are well equipped to make decisions about their travel needs, knowing that fiscal responsibility and living within a budget are trademarks of this administration."

The Journal also found that no one person is in charge of analyzing costs for the state government, and none of the agencies that look over reports on out-of-state travel are actually required to do any scrutinizing or analysis.

In their findings, researchers saw the state of Michigan spent at least $40.5 million on travel-related costs last year. But they call that, "at best, an inconclusive, minimum figure."

This is due to shaky numbers, records going unaccounted for, and having to get in touch with all state agencies to receive numbers.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, who sets the rules for approval of employee travel, mentioned that each agency is responsible for reporting this minutiae, and must maintain within their own budget.

Governor Rick Snyder's declined to comment to the Lansing State Journal.