The state prison audit

Department of Corrections Director Jon Ozmint is probably feeling a bit beleaguered these days with all the bad budget news affecting his cash-strapped agency. But he should have used more restraint in regard to a survey designed to provide the Legislature with information about working conditions in the prison system.

The Legislative Audit Council abandoned its plans for a survey of prison employees after Mr. Ozmint criticized it in a Corrections Department newsletter and an e-mail to employees. In the newsletter, he stated the survey was an effort to blame Corrections officials for prison problems. ...

The survey has been shelved because of Mr. Ozmint's interference, but the larger audit goes on. The governor should advise full cooperation as the LAC continues to review agency operations. A precedent of non-compliance could damage the LAC's ability to probe other state agencies in the future.

There will probably be critical findings in the audit, but it may well provide evidence that Corrections' problems are mainly the result of legislative neglect. In any case, the public and the elected officials who represent them have the right to know.

State spending

South Carolina's comptroller general announced that the state ended its fiscal year with a quarter-billion-dollar deficit. That fact, he said, should show lawmakers the need for smarter financial decisions.

State Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom said the state ended the year $250.4 million in the hole. He used various reserve funds to make up for the shortfall, and several spending items on lawmakers' wish lists won't be funded.

State revenue in the current fiscal year is also expected to be down, which is why the Budget and Control Board is requiring across-the-board spending cuts.

None of this would be necessary in the future if lawmakers would make more sensible spending decisions. ...

The truth is that if they had held back on spending, the state budget would not be so large that today's tax revenue couldn't support it. The problem is not the 20 percent of the surplus they gave back. It is the 80 percent they spent.

Lawmakers have shown they won't listen to Eckstrom or Sanford. But they may listen to you. As they campaign for re-election, let them know you want to see more responsible spending decisions from the General Assembly.

This story was originally published August 23, 2008 at 12:50 AM with the headline "The state prison audit."