(The Center Square) – From a $700 million budget hole five years ago to staying “within the lanes of its budget while fulfilling transportation duties,” North Carolina’s Department of Transportation received a sterling audit from the new state treasurer.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, Republican Auditor Dave Boliek said the Transportation Department spent $7.68 billion of the planned $8.26 billion and did not exceed the original forecast in any of the four expenditure categories.
At his swearing-in on Jan. 1, Boliek pledged that his first job would be an audit of the department.
“One of the worst things a government can do is large-scale overspending,” Boliek said in a release. “We see it far too often in Washington, but it’s not completely foreign to North Carolina either. I’ll always strive to expose government waste, but I’ll also highlight fiscal responsibility.
“The state Department of Transportation stuck to its budget this past fiscal year, which will only help as infrastructure needs mount in western North Carolina.”
Annual appropriation by the General Assembly of taxpayer dollars is in the $5 billion neighborhood.
Joey Hopkins took over as secretary of the Transportation Department in October 2023. He’s a registered professional engineer with more than thirty years of work experience, including as chief operating officer before ascending to secretary.
The department has divisions handling aviation, motor vehicles, ferries, the Global TransPark, highways, integrated mobility, a ports authority, rail, and a turnpike authority. Hopkins and his department’s oversight is mostly known and critiqued for the 80,000 miles of roads maintained.
In his letter of response dated Thursday, Hopkins wrote, “We will continue to improve spend plan development and execution to ensure plan compliance and optimal performance in the future. I appreciate the engagement staff’s hard work and professionalism and believe the positive outcome of this audit is based in part on their guidance and direction during the development of the spend plan process.”
Hopkins succeeded the retiring Eric Boyette.
