Are State Employees Taking Taxpayers For A Ride?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When a state government worker drives their own car on the job, the state reimburses them.

NBC 4 discovered that the State of Ohio is giving taxpayer dollars away with overly generous employee reimbursements.

Last fiscal year, an Ohio parole officer took home $12,215 in mileage reimbursements from the state.

Fifteen workers at the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections combined to collect more than $109,000 in mileage payments in 2008 -- just a fraction of the more than $61 million the state has paid out to employees over the past five years for mileage.

The reason for the big payouts? The state's mileage reimbursement rate is currently 50.5 cents per mile. The money is supposed to pay for gas, help cover insurance, maintenance and other costs.

But NBC 4's analysis found Ohio is dramatically overpaying state workers for their expenses, NBC 4's Patrick Preston reported.

A drive from Columbus to Cleveland and back is 300 miles and the state pays out $151.50 -- more than you may pay for a flight to Chicago and back.

A car that gets 20 mpg would require $30 in gas, leaving $120 for other costs. But for far less than $120, the state could rent a car and still have cash left over.

NBC 4 found that with gas prices at $2 a gallon, anytime an employee drives more than 90 miles in a day, the state would save more money renting a car than by reimbursing an employee for mileage.

"Does the state not have an obligation to look and see whether its own mileage reimbursement rate can be lowered to save taxpayers money?" Preston asked Pari Sabety, Director of the Office of Budget Management.

"Well, that's something that we're taking a look at all the time as we look at ways in which we can save our taxpayers money," Sabety said.

NBC 4 looked to Kentucky and found that the state reimburses employees 37 cents per mile. Iowa pays 39 cents per mile and since 2003, New Mexico pays only 32 cents per mile -- 36 percent less than Ohio.

At a cost of more than $13 million in 2008, why would Ohio choose to overpay?

The state set its mileage reimbursement rate at 50,5 cents in early 2008 -- in line with the IRS, relying on findings of transportation consulting firm Runzheimer International.

But the company said the IRS rate is a national average, including driving costs in New York City, Los Angeles, Hawaii and others where costs far exceed Ohio.

The company's vehicle cost expert said the IRS rates over-reimbursements for high mileage drivers.

Had Ohio lowered its reimbursement rate to 32 cents in 2008, the state would have saved more than $4 million.

"I think smarter than changing the reimbursement rate would be for us to start asking state employees to assure that they are using state fleet vehicles when it is in the long-term fiscal interests of the state for them to do so," Sabety said.

NBC 4 also examined state policies and found no guidelines instructing state workers to use a state vehicle for longer drives. The only rule is that if drivers exceed 7,518 miles in one year, they should be issued a state vehicle rather than be reimbursed.

But the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections proved that even that rule isn't always followed -- and for that, Ohio taxpayers continue to pay the price.

As of last week, the state has paid out $8.8 million in mileage reimbursements since the fiscal year began in July.

The bottom line is that for every penny the state lowers the mileage reimbursement rate, Ohio would save as much as $250,000 each year. Lowering the rate by 10 or 15 cents could save the state millions of dollars.

At a minimum the state could save money by making sure that workers don't drive their own cars when they travel long distances.

For additional information, stay with nbc4i.com and NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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