UDOT adds buffer after audit

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Office of the Legislative Auditor General has determined that the Utah Department of Transportation properly handled the case of an employee who allowed family members to live and work at state-owned property.

Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, and Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, requested the audit after an internal UDOT audit found the employee, who worked as an agent in UDOT's right-of-way department, paid her husband's stepdaughter and spouse to repair 19 houses on a vacant corridor, paying $102,970.

The auditor believes that if the agent hired more contractors, the properties would have been fixed up and rented out faster, which would have generated more than $100,000 for the state.

The agent also hired a son-in-law to do yard work on properties and complete pre-bid inspections for $3,276, according to the audit. The agent hired a former real estate partner to complete pre-bid inspections of UDOT properties for $500.

The agent rented a 3,700-square-foot UDOT property to her daughter for $500 a month. UDOT paid utilities of $166 a month. Previous tenants paid $2,500 a month for the property, according to the audit.

The audit said her husband's stepdaughter rented 3,700 square feet for $400. She paid her own utilities. Comparable properties rented for $1,000 or $1,220 a month.

In addition to renting below market, the rental contracts for the stepdaughter weren't the usual one-year UDOT contracts, the audit said. Instead, they ran for five years, beginning August 2008, and rent was not increased on a yearly basis.

The employee resigned earlier this year during ongoing appeals against UDOT over its intent to terminate her.

During the appeals process, UDOT found more violations, including violations by her supervisor, who was storing personal items in a UDOT-owned right-of-way garage for two years. The estimated value of fair usage was $600, which the supervisor paid. The supervisor was "officially reprimanded for not disclosing the use of the property and relieved of all supervisor duties," according to the audit. UDOT had checks and balances over employees in the right-of-way department but has since tightened them.

UDOT management has changed the way right-of-way employees are trained. They have to sign stricter conflict-of-interest disclosures, and there is more contract oversight and approval.

The department has created a new position called a right-of-way engineer, who oversees property management, said UDOT spokesman Nile Easton.

"We're taking away the ability of one person to make those decisions on their own ever again, so there will be multiple sets of eyes," Easton said.

The auditors recommended the conflict-of-interest disclosures be renewed and signed each year by staff and consultants. They also recommended UDOT ensure employee performance plans and reviews occur yearly and are documented.

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