Part II- High cost of low oversight

KENNETT, Mo. -- When I first started the research on taxpayer rip-offs by inefficient, inattentive and uncaring state agencies and programs, I really underestimated the extent of the political inefficiency, inattentiveness and indifference that are so rampant in our state capital.

Oh, I knew these qualities existed in Jefferson City -- just as they exist in every other state capital and in our national capital as well -- and on occasion I even wrote about them.

But it was not until my interest motivated even more detailed investigation that I began poking my outsider's nose into the machinations of public governance.

Ever since last week's column, I have spent days and a great number of nights reading every audit report I could lay my hands on. Finally, the material that I had compiled mandated yet another column, perhaps more disturbing even than the first one, since the material compiled suggests that these grievous errors, oversights and perhaps even occasional fraud add up to a conclusion I had never before researched: The cost of public government has grown expoenentially higher than the standard of living of virtually all Missourians.

To make matters worse, these misjudgments and miscalculations are dangerously weakening the ability of taxpayers to fund essential and needed programs in the future.

Before continuing, let me explain that I am not waging war against any specific program or political faith or the motivation of anyone. I found virtually no evidence that state government is populated by criminals or even anyone out to make a fast buck from unsuspecting taxpayers. After more than 22 years on one state commission, I learned long ago to respect the men and women who are given the slightly pejorative term "state employees," who are often castigated for their alleged taxpayer-indifferent attitude.

A vast number of these folks are honest, hard-working servants of the people whose lives are far more controlled by rules and regulations, not to mention harassing superiors, than are their civilian counterparts.

And let me make it clear that I am conducting no journalistic vendetta against any agency, any group of politicians or any public programs. My respect for ordinary workers, worthwhile programs and conscientious public and political figures remains intact.

Well, you have a right to ask, if this is so, who or what is the target of your disgust and criticism?

A fair question.

The answer is that the very nature and the exponential growth of public governance, both at the state and national levels, has become so complex, so important and, yes, so appealing that effective oversight may well have become an impossibility, even if one can question whether it was ever possible.

Permit me a brief personal reference.

Some 60 years ago my father took a crack at public service, and we all packed up and moved to Jefferson City, where he joined the State Tax Commission while serving as the ex officio chief of staff for the governor at the time. Instead of a huge staff that now occupies the executive office, the governor had but one secretary.

Period.

My father became the unpaid assistant to the governor, working 18 hour days (and nights) seven days a week. By the time Lloyd Stark went back to Louisiana, Mo., he had doubled his staff. He had two.

The last time I counted, there were 37 employees in the governor's office -- plus some 1,026 employees in the Office of Administration, which is designed to assist in gubernatorial programs and duties. These numbers are a perfect illustration of the growth of state government, a trend that is much, much grander, as one might imagine, at the federal level.

Although I have just scratched the surface, I'd like to expand the citations made in Part I on the recommendations and results of two audit sources in Jefferson City: The office of state auditor and the oversight division of the Committee on Legislative Research. The supply is almost inexhaustible, so if we run out of room today, there may be a third offering.

Here's a report that ought to scare all of us from state auditor Claire McCaskill. Her staff found poor compliance with the current sex offender registration law. The law requires 8,000 known offenders to register with local law enforcement agencies. An audit found 36 percent of all released offenders had not met their most recent registration requirement.

This is a law that went on the books in 1994, and its ineffectiveness was almost guaranteed when the Missouri Supreme Court excused half of all sexual offenders sentenced to probation from having to register. Auditor's also found that more than 500 sexual offenders were not registered because they had been excused from the law after receiving a suspended imposition of sentence. I don't mean to be flip when I suggest the only ones covered under the law are those sexual predators who go around wearing no pants.

Additionally, for some reason, state and federal governments have a penchant for outside consultants, who are alleged experts in areas in which they have had no prior experience or work record.

State auditors have reviewed 63 consultant contracts with Missouri agencies and found an incredible number of weaknesses.

Some were paid for services they never produced.

Some agencies failed to solicit competitive bids.

Some hired consulting firms and paid them before they even started to work -- with these payments ranging from $6,865 to $4.1 million.

One consultant, after being fired, was permitted to increase his fees by $12,254.

In other words, folks, you are paying for a lot of consulting that never takes place or is much more expensive than anyone even realizes.

My consultation on this taxpayer rip-off would be: Stop the idiocy!

Sorry, I can't end here. There's more coming.

Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News & Editorial Service.