SCDOT Questioned About Finances

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — “We’re dealing with an over committment that we have made,” says Robert Onge of the South Carolina Department of Transportation. Robert St. Onge knows his department has a problem. “We have a tremendous backlog of work that’s being done or has been done and needs to be paid for,” says Onge. Work that doesn’t carry a small bill. “We have comitments on the street that go for the next 3 years, that are in the 1.3 billion dollar range,” says Onge. Only half of those have been paid, something state officials do not look favorably upon. “I’m not going to be happy with anything you have to say today,” says Curtis Loftis, State Treasurer. But how did the SCDOT get here? “The DOT never, ever thinks they are part of state government, it’s above it, it’s beyond it, its a discrete organization,” says Loftis. Officials say the problem stems partly from bad communication between the DOT’s Engineering department and the accounting department. “You’ve got to have the money dealing with the programs, you can’t have 2 bodies working independently and not talking to one another,” says, says South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Board members say bad financial practices also played a role. “You can’t in your office, after building roads for over 90 years, you can’t give us an ageing of your accounts payable. You don’t know what is 30 days, you don’t know what is 60 days, you don’t know what is 90 days,” says Loftis. But there’s no getting around the fact that the bills are due and the money just isn’t there. “We found four days in August that your prime contractor account had $2.48 in it,” says Loftis. While the problem is mounting, DOT officials say they are working to fix it. For starters, the department’s treasurer says they now hold weekly meetings to answer questions on what can and cannot be done in terms of work,. The department has also assigned a task force to look at organizational design, they’ve even sought help from other state agencies. But still, there’s no quick fix. “We’ve made adjustments, we’ve made some changes and they’re a work in progress as I said,” says Onge. Work that officials say needs to be done. “People are mad about their roads, they’re mad about their bridges, they’re made about their tax dollars, and the people do not like it,” says Loftis.