Senate

Inspector General's Office Stretched Thin with Extensive Audits and Insufficient Budget

Complaints of staff shortages remain a recurring theme during the FY2025 budget cycle, with the Office of the Inspector General being the latest government entity to raise the issue. On Friday, Inspector General Delia Thomas informed the Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance that several important audits across a number of government departments must be carried out with a team of only 11 auditors and 1 investigator. New audits are also being planned, including looking into the contracting practices at the VIPD, Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Education.‌ The OIG is also conducting an audit of the Taxicab Commission to determine if VITCC properly issued taxi licenses and medallions, inspected taxi cabs and accounted for collections and expenses from FY2018 to FY2022. “This audit has proven very labor intensive, as the Commission’s records are maintained manually rather than electronically,” reported Ms. Thomas. With such a tiny staff and multiple con...