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Morrisey: Audits find more than $168 million in savings across executive branch

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, right, joined by Department of Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh,left, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Bayless said Monday that completed audits of several executive branch departments and agencies found more than $168 million in potential savings. (Photo courtesy/West Virginia Governor's Office)

CHARLESTON – West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday that audits of executive branch services and four specific departments found more than $168 million in savings.

Morrisey held a press conference announcing the results of audits after the governor issued executive orders shortly after taking office last year.

“We are repurposing government,” he said. “We’re trying to make it more effective and more efficient so that we can deliver the services that people expect, and we’re going to keep going. I’m not aware of a comprehensive review like this that’s happened in state government in a very, very long time.”

Executive Order 5-25, issued by Morrisey on Jan. 14, 2025, ordered all cabinet secretaries and department heads to perform comprehensive reviews and identify areas of inefficiency or wasteful spending and submit those findings to the Governor’s Office within 60 days of the executive order.

Those departments then had 100 days from the issuance of the executive order to propose plans to address the areas of inefficiencies. The state also contracted with BDO USA for department and agency audits, costing taxpayers approximately $1 million. Those reviews resulted in 13 recommendations released Monday for miscellaneous state departments and agencies.

“We’re really grateful to … the hard work of BDO, the consulting firm that put an enormous amount of time in trying to get in and examine the bowels of state government and look for efficiencies,” Morrisey said.

Recommendations included saving $1.25 million per year by retiring under-used state vehicles, saving $856,000 by shutting down an unnecessary data center, saving $456,000 per year by canceling third-party data storage contracts, saving $700,000 per year by canceling outdated software contracts and saving $600,000 per year by fixing paper-based enrollment for the Public Employee Insurance Agency.

Other proposed savings include $2.2 million by reusing federal surplus furniture and equipment, $400,000 per year by hiring civilian firefighters for the West Virginia National Guard, $325,000 by renegotiating data storage contracts, $346,000 per year by bringing job search software in-house for WorkForce West Virginia, $100,000 per year by canceling unneeded memberships and consultants at the Department of Tourism, $45,000 by boards and commissions switching from in-person to virtual meetings, $87,000 per year by cancelling unused cell phone lines, and $40,000 per year from the National Guard canceling a private mowing contract for its headquarters.

BDO took the lead on auditing three major areas of the executive branch: the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Human Services.

“We started with the first three major agencies, the ones, quite frankly, that many in the public know have been challenging to manage, to put it mildly, over a long, long period of time,” Morrisey said.

BDO identified approximately $39.4 million in recommended improvements for the Department of Homeland Security, including investments in better pay and working conditions, updating grant management systems, automating data entry and digitization, streamlining hiring procedures, eliminating overlapping services, simplifying purchasing processes, relocating an operations center, and the use of bodycams by correctional officers.

It was unclear how much it would cost the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to purchase bodycams and a request for information was not returned. But Morrisey said there would be a potential savings of $1.9 million by reducing legal fees and future settlement costs.

“The state sees its share of frivolous claims. But our auditors do believe that we can improve in this area if we end up having our officers wear body cameras,” Morrisey said. “Obviously, you’ll have the transparency, because we think the people then won’t make up some of the allegations that may be out there. We believe that these tools, this transparency, is going to be very beneficial.”

BDO found $50.6 million in recommended improvements for the Department of Transportation, including ways to improve contractor oversight and accountability, simplifying computer systems, reducing reliance on consultants, updating Division of Motor Vehicles systems and procedures, and automating accounts receivable by centralizing accounts.

For the Department of Human Services, BDO provided recommendations totaling nearly $68.4 million in savings. These include finding ways to reduce reliance on out-of-state services for foster children, replacing outdated technology, fixing the Medicaid verification process, updating grant management systems, and cutting postage and mail costs.

Other recommendations include improving the reimbursement and payment processes for vendors and providers, reducing paperwork for caseworkers, and coordinating services between state departments and agencies.

“One thing that came through in the Human Services audit and throughout these audits is there needed to be tighter controls, especially on the finances,” Morrisey said. “We’re implementing them. That’s important because you don’t want to have resources fly out the door. This is taxpayer money, and we need to protect it very aggressively.”

The full audit reports for the departments of Human Services, Homeland Security and Transportation can be found at governor.wv.gov.

“I’m not here to tell you that everything’s perfect,” Morrisey said. “But we’re making progress every day on the type of improvements that are necessary to run a more effective state government and to save taxpayer dollars.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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