CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sen. Bob Beach, D-Monongalia, has sent a letter to Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred, asking his office to conduct an audit of Division of Highways District 4, which includes Monongalia, Preston and Marion counties within its purview.
The letter, dated Tuesday and announced on Thursday, says, “I have heard concerns from a number of constituents regarding how maintenance funding is allocated and prioritized across District 4.”
Beach, who previously served as Senate Transportation Committee chair, asks Allred’s office to either work alone, or with the DOH and/or the state auditor (different from the legislative auditor) to conduct the audit.
Beach clarifies that his request is not related to road bond projects but to the allocation of maintenance dollars. He requests a detailed explanation and analysis of any formula the district uses to allocate the money.
Beach posted the letter on his Facebook page, and the comments section contains several entries critical of the district and speculating how the money is spent.
In response, Beach wrote, “The intent of the audit is to eliminate speculation. It’s best to have the answers in writing. Then if the Legislature needs to craft language to create a funding formula in code or address another issue we can do so. I would rather have a target to aim for than a random action which could waste additional time. I think we can all agree there are several glowing issues, but the audit will also offer suggestions in order to fix the problem.”
Allred did not respond to an email listing questions about how his office would process the request, and could not be reached by phone at his office. DOH spokesman Brent Walker did not respond to an email or a voicemail.
Beach offered additional insight into his request via a phone interview. He said the idea sprang from the meeting held on in Morgantown on May 16 to discuss District 4 road issues and attended by legislators and county officials from the district.
One of the goals of the tentatively titled North Central Caucus on Roads is to get a full explanation as to how the DOH divvies up maintenance funds, The Dominion Post reported at the time.
Following a possible audit, Beach said, perhaps the Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways could be reconstituted to explore maintenance funding.
DOH keeps saying it has a funding formula, Beach said, based on mileage and population, but beyond that it offers no light on how the money is allocated. He hopes the audit might flush out the truth behind the formula and get that information to legislators and citizens.
Beach said some allege that money is being misspent, but he believes inadequate funding is the more likely issue.
This story, written by David Beard, first appeared in the June 1 edition of The Dominion Post.