Surprise: California auditor finds waste in state government

Here's some ways your tax dollars are being wasted by Sacramento bureaucrats, this from the Bureau of state Audits:

State employees and agencies engaged in improper activities, including the following:

• Wasted $580,000 by leasing office space left vacant for more than four years.
• Incurred $71,747 in improper commute, lodging, and meal expenses.
• Failed to report 427 hours of missed work, for which the employee was paid $8,314.
• Circumvented state civil service rules by arranging for the selection of a subordinate employee to a vacant position and paying the employee $6,444 for duties that she did not perform.
• Paid at least $1,253 more than necessary on a $4,987 purchase without obtaining competitive price quotes.
• Wasted $3,000 by paying for private consultant services that another state agency could have provided at no cost.
• Paid an employee $1,145 for unearned compensation and travel expenses not incurred.
• Sent inappropriate e-mail messages to other state employees. Management then failed to take corrective action despite noting similar behavior in the past.
• Circumvented state law by protecting a vacant position and preventing it from being abolished.