Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2007 > July > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USThe Legislature gears up to take on the state DOT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One month ago, out of the blue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle warned a set of newspaper publishers gathered in Savannah to brace themselves for an overhaul of the state Department of Transportation — and the way the state of Georgia handles road-building.
How big an overhaul, Cagle wouldn’t say.
But now we know something of the scope. The week before Cagle teased the news hounds, he and House Speaker Glenn Richardson put their signatures to a letter addressed to State Auditor Russell Hinton.
Only now has the letter become available. See it here.
The two men who control the Legislature demanded a sweeping “special performance audit” of the state DOT, including:
— An analysis of “a selected sample” of DOT projects, with a focus of whether engineering specs are written with the focus of getting the maximum value out of taxpayer dollars.
In June, Cagle came close to accusing the DOT of corruption. “There was a bridge that was designed by the [DOT] in Augusta to be built, and unfortunately they designed it in such a way that it was a one-of-a-kind bridge and only one bidder could bid on the project,” he told those newspaper publishers.
— An analysis of DOT project management, with recommendations for bringing “projects to completion more rapidly.”
— A cost-comparison of DOT management practices with private-public partnerships of the same kind.
The moribund state of transportation in Georgia — particularly metro Atlanta — has been the subject of much complaint among business leaders and local government officials — not to mention the people who must travel from Point A to Point B.
For the first time we can remember, you’ve got a unified Legislature questioning the basic operation of the state Department of Transportation — in a comprehensive way that only a few governors have dared. None of them have been named Perdue.
The Associated Press was the first to come across a copy of the letter. John Abbey, director of performance audit operations for the state Department of Audits and Accounts, told the news agency that the requested review was underway. Initial results could be available by November.
The Legislature convenes Jan. 14.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Craig also
July 19, 2007 5:39 PM | Link to this
It is WAY past time for transportation planning in GA to be overhauled. Building more highways is not the solution - we need more options whether it be rail, or bus mass transit, or whatever. If Cagle makes actual changes in how the money is spent he will get my vote in the future.
By 'Bout Time
July 20, 2007 12:47 AM | Link to this
GDOT is an incredibly wasteful, bloated, incestuous black hole of taxpayer money. A comprehensive forensic audit is needed of the entire dept., with no stone left unturned. GDOT throws out massive numbers, even if they aren’t true. But it scares the public, and deadens them to hearing a billion doallr project without blinking an eye.
And GDOT gets indignant when they’re called out on anything. But they have no shame in carrying out the every wish of their road building pimps.
It’s the Georgia Department of Transportation. That’s all forms of transportation, Harold Linnekohl. Not just massive road builing contracts for your insider road building buddies.
By moe
July 20, 2007 8:41 AM | Link to this
It is easy to bash the DOT because we all use our roads every single day and blame the DOT when there are traffic jams or a pothole.
Just travel to any other neighboring state and compare the condition of the roads, compare the traffic jams in much smaller metropolitan areas to our metro cities.
I guess I appreciate what we have when I see where it can be a whole lot worse.
By It is easy
July 20, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
Sure is easy to bash GDOT, when metro areas like Dallas and Salt Lake are adding rail. Or Chicago and DC, with fantastic rail systems already in place. It’s easy to bash GDOT when Georgians for Better Transportation hosts a huge, gluttonous suare at the Fox for GDOT Bd. members, elected officials and road builders. Easy to bash them when they can’t even synchronize traffic lights, even though Sonny said he would during his first campaign.
By Way to Go Casey
July 20, 2007 5:44 PM | Link to this
Thanks for standing up to GDOT, Lt. Guv Cagle. ‘Bout time someone checked their books. I’m guessing they are the only entity in Georgia that wastes more money than Grady.
By Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
July 23, 2007 11:40 AM | Link to this
Does DOT need an audit/review? YES! There are lots of good folks in state government and many of them at DOT. However, DOT is a bloated bureacracy that like the extinct dinosaur is dying by its own weight and inability to change with the environment and times. Georgians don’t care how the department “used” to do things. They care about how you are going to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Many parts of the department can be privatized with the payoff being greater efficiency and delivery, as a report recently conducted by the Board, points out. DOT, please wake up and make the necessary changes or you too will become extinct.