Today, state auditors released findings that the Connecticut Governor’s Office kept inadequate daily mileage logs, failed to perform monthly reviews of vehicle use data and frequently failed to park its state vehicles in state-approved locations, from the months of April to June 2024.

“Lack of adequate records and management review increases the likelihood of misconduct and noncompliance,” wrote the auditors. “When a pool vehicle is used exclusively by a single employee, there is an increased risk of under-reporting taxable fringe benefits.”

The auditors noted that these findings have not been previously reported. As of June 30, 2024, the Governor’s Office was assigned three state vehicles, one for Gov. Ned Lamont’s use, and two others for the use of his staff. The audit’s findings mirror those of Inside Investigator’s own findings related to these cars’ usage.

Last November, Inside Investigator found that from June 2023 to September 2024, the two state cars assigned to Lamont’s staff were used for over 12,000 miles of travel, with roughly 2,300 of those miles attributed to personal use, stopping at grocery stores, pizza places, and even a Dave Matthew’s concert. The cars were also driven at reckless speeds, topping out at 113 mph in one trip from New London to Hartford, and were frequently parked overnight near the personal residences of Lamont’s former Chief of Staff, Johnathan Dach. The auditors noted that state vehicles were parked in unapproved locations on 34 of the 87 days in which they were used throughout the months they assessed.

The Governor’s Office agreed with the audit’s findings and said they are, “committed to ensuring full adherence to state policies and procedures and promoting accountability in the use of state resources.” The office also said that policies and procedures have been updated, and they have developed additional guidelines and training, “to ensure all employees understand their responsibilities and the limits of vehicle use.” 

Going forward, the Governor’s Office pledged to conduct regular audits of vehicle usage and will have its legal department oversee the compliance process to ensure “consistent enforcement and accountability.”

Additionally, the auditors also found the office to have a lack of “formal written procedures for reviewing and approving timesheets.” Per the audit, the Governor’s Office employed 34 staff members in 2023, who were paid about $3.75 million, and 25 staff members in 2024, who were paid about $2.62 million.

“The Office of the Governor and DAS business office approved the office’s employees’ timesheets without direct knowledge of their work hours or locations,” wrote the auditors. “There was reduced assurance that the office paid employees for their actual time worked.”

The cause was attributed to “limited resources,” and the auditors recommended that the office “develop and implement internal controls” over timesheet approval.

Lastly, the audit found the Governor’s Office and DAS, which performs tasks such as purchasing and asset-tracking for the Governor’s Office, incapable of locating a number of assets requested by the auditors. The auditors noted that the Governor’s Office “appears to have excess laptops and personal computers” for its staff levels, and found “no evidence that DAS scanned and updated 72 of 113 assets” into Core-CT, the state’s asset management database.

Ultimately, the auditors concluded by saying they found deficiencies and internal controls and non-compliance with “laws, regulations, contracts and grant agreements, policies, or procedures,” but did not find any “need for improvement in management practices and procedures” that rose to the level of report.

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