An Audit Report on the Department of Transportation's Aviation and Metropolitan Transportation Planning Grant Programs
March 2007
Report Number 07-018
Overall Conclusion
The Department of Transportation (Department) awards funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Planning grant program and the Aviation grant program in accordance with federal regulations and state statutes. Auditors did not identify any instances in which the Department inappropriately awarded these types of grants. However, the Department has not documented its process for awarding Aviation grants, which increases the risk that funds may not be awarded in an objective manner.
The Department effectively oversees Aviation grants, but it does not provide sufficient oversight for Metropolitan Transportation Planning grants. Specifically, the Department's district offices do not consistently review supporting documentation for the expenditures made by the metropolitan planning organizations that receive Metropolitan Transportation Planning grants. At the three district offices auditors visited, there was not sufficient supporting documentation for $1,203,705 (77 percent) of the expenditures tested. Not reviewing and maintaining documentation supporting expenditures increases the risk that funds may not be spent as intended.
The Department also does not consistently update its Metropolitan Transportation Planning grant agreements with metropolitan planning organizations. It is important to update the grant agreements so that they can incorporate the Department's current requirements and so that the Department has a legal agreement to hold the metropolitan planning organizations accountable.
In the course of this audit, auditors also reviewed information related to the Department's Transportation Enhancement grant program. Specifically, we selected the courthouse preservation and Battleship Texas projects for review. However, we did not audit these projects because no grants were awarded for fiscal year 2006. In September 2006, the federal oversight agency deemed the Battleship Texas project to be ineligible for the Transportation Enhancement grant program. As of February 2007, the Department was awaiting an eligibility determination by the federal oversight agency before awarding Transportation Enhancement grants for courthouse preservation.
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