Wilkes: SC DOT not getting credit for the good job it does

As the first independent internal auditor of the state Transportation Department, I need to respond to the constant criticism of that agency by Associate Editor Cindi Ross Scoppe. I was appointed in 2007 after a new law created the Internal Audit Office, and served for four years, until my retirement; I filled the office with competent auditors, and we were never obstructed from our duties.

Aside from Santee Cooper, the Ports Authority and state universities, this was the first truly independent office of internal audits in state government. But that’s just the start. In addition to the internal auditor, the Transportation Department is audited annually by the State Auditor’s Office, an independent accounting firm, state procurement auditors, the federal Department of Transportation and other federal agencies. Its financial statements and operations have consistently received excellent reviews.

Ms. Scoppe complains that road-building priorities are based on parochialism and horse-trading among commissioners, but the agency’s five- and 10-year road building plans smartly focus on projects that can be federally funded, because funds for state roads are woefully absent. Maintaining these plans is required by law, and they use a formula approved by the Legislature and the federal Transportation Department. It is very difficult for a single commissioner to justify altering the plan for personal preferences.

As for the State Infrastructure Bank, it has saved South Carolina millions of dollars by using the state’s bonding capacity to accelerate road projects by years. The Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, the Conway Bypass and the extensive Myrtle Beach bypasses probably would not exist today without this funding. It was one of the first banks of its kind in the United States. Many other state transportation agencies have copied this model.

I must emphasize the integrity and hard work of the 5,000 Transportation Department employees. During my four years as audit director, we focused on fraud, but we never found anything more than the occasional stealing that any business experiences. You just have to look at the response to this fall’s flooding to see the heart and soul of the agency’s dedicated employees. It has always been this way.

Please fund our road system, and keep politics out of it.

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 11:59 AM.