The joke goes, a tourist stops to ask a farmer where the road goes.
He replies, “Road doesn’t go anywhere. Stays right here.”
That’s akin to what’s behind the call for an audit of the Division of Highways District 4’s finances.
Where do our fuel taxes, our DMV fees, federal highway funds and so on go? They certainly don’t stay right here.
At least, that’s the feeling many of us get who drive the roads throughout District 4, a six-county region that includes Monongalia and Preston counties.
Furthermore, we were under the impression that passage in October of the Roads to Prosperity initiative would free up millions for more repairs and maintenance.
We endorse this call for an audit by state Sen. Bob Beach of District 4’s finances — specifically how maintenance dollars are allocated, prioritized and spent.
This call follows the formation of the North Central Caucus on Roads last month by five of the six county commissions in District 4.
There are any number of uncertainties surrounding a formula the state uses to fund the district and the district uses to allocate money to projects.
Call it accountability, transparency, holding their feet to the fire or what have you, but most of all, call for audits.
Audits are not susceptible to charming personalities, election-year promises or even special interests’ lobbyists. As a rule, accountants conduct audits in a dispassionate manner, much like a special counsel or investigator does.
The follow the evidence — the numbers — to determine if it adds up or not and wherever the money trail may lead them.
What cannot be explained away is fully investigated and then recorded in an audit’s findings.
The freeze-thaw cycle is devastating to our roads yearly, but fortunately it’s only seasonal, which allows for some repairs.
However, the tax-spend cycle is a constant that requires audits to find out where money is being spent — and wasted.
It’s possible the only thing this audit will find out is the DOH’s District 4 is going to need a lot more money to maintain its roads.
As for formulas to determine how funding is divided, this audit may only learn that like allocations for slide mitigation, each of the DOH’s
10 districts gets the same amount.
The audit Beach requested should come with directions to make District 4 work more efficiently and recommendations to save it money.
But it certainly will not suddenly uncover or recommend any new sources of revenue to improve road conditions.
Still, this audit will serve as a road map for where we need District 4 to go.
