State audit takes issue with training conference

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state agency responsible for controlling liquor sales in Missouri needs to control its own costs when it comes to holding training conferences at the Lake of the Ozarks, a new state audit says.

The report Wednesday by State Auditor Claire McCaskill said that the Division of Liquor Control spent $3,320 to send 21 workers from Jefferson City to a training conference in Osage Beach in November 2000.

The costs included $1,750 in hotel bills, $940 for hors d'oeuvres and snacks during receptions and $630 for mileage reimbursements to the conference 40 miles south of the capital, the audit said.

Money could have been saved by holding the conference at the capital and eliminating some of the snacks, the audit said.

State law requires that all purchases exceeding $3,000 to be bid competitively, which was not done by the Liquor Control Division, the audit said.

The audit recommended that the agency review expenditures for future conferences "to ensure the costs are reasonable and necessary." In its response, the division said that it agreed with the audit's findings and has "taken steps to avail itself to be more flexible about dates and locations to lower costs."

Cell phone policy lacking

The division also came under fire for failing to have a written policy regarding cellular phone usage. In one case, the audit found that Hope Whitehead, the division supervisor at the time of the audit, had made a small percentage of phone calls to her home and to her spouse's work without reimbursing the state.

Whitehead now works as a legal adviser with the state Division of Worker Compensation in St. Louis.

The audit recommended that the division develop a formal policy regarding the use of cellular telephones, including a provision prohibiting personal use of the phones.

The division said in it's response that "revised internal cell phone policies" are expected to be in place in August.

The audit also recommended that the division do a better job of tracking mileage for the 18 vehicles in its fleet to make sure vehicles were being used for government business. The division said it had made changes to the way it tracks vehicle mileage.

The Division of Liquor Control, which employs 75 people, issues licenses authorizing the manufacture, distribution and sale of liquor in Missouri.

The division also monitors and collects taxes on alcoholic beverages and is responsible for monitoring the prohibition of tobacco sales to Missourians under the age of 18.