Massachusetts Highway Department - District Two

This is a 2001 official state audit of certain operations at the Massachusetts Highway Department’s District Two office in Northampton.

“Our audit focused on the MHD District Two Office.”

Auditors reviewed how District Two managed construction contracts, vehicle use, and inventories such as computer equipment, furniture, and stockroom supplies.

“We have also reviewed the management controls over the District’s light fleet vehicles and the IT, office furniture / equipment and stockroom / small stores inventories.”

The report matters because District Two was spending public money on vehicles and contracts, and auditors found avoidable costs and weak oversight.

“District Two incurs annual costs of approximately $255,000 for its state-leased vehicles and expended approximately $409,000 during our audit period for contractually provided vehicles.”

For residents, the issue is whether transportation dollars are being protected and used efficiently instead of being lost to poor controls or unnecessary costs.

“We performed an analysis to document the potential cost savings available to District Two, had it chosen to lease additional OVM vehicles as opposed to contract vehicles.”

The auditors concluded that District Two needed stronger management controls, especially for vehicles, contracts, and inventory.

“Our audit noted that District Two had deficiencies regarding the administration and management of its contracts.”

The report recommends corrective action, including tighter vehicle logs, better contract oversight, annual inventory checks, and a broader review across highway districts.

“The Massachusetts Highway Department should perform a district by district review of the issues disclosed in this report to determine the extent of their occurrence and to take the appropriate administrative and management initiatives to correct all deficiencies to achieve cost savings, economies, and efficiencies.”

The audit is significant because it found potential savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars and identified problems that could exist beyond District Two.

“Using the above assumptions, we computed the potential vehicle lease savings that could have been achieved to be between $189,987 and $269,324 had the District chosen to lease additional OVM vehicles as opposed to contract vehicles3”

“Internal controls” means the checks and records an agency uses to make sure public property, spending, and reporting are accurate and properly managed.

“The MHD should design and implement the necessary written policies and procedures to ensure the integrity of the District’s stockroom, office furniture, and IT inventories.”