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Social Services Transportation K-12 Higher
Education
Local Government Budget
& Taxes Health Care
Audit Reports Complete
List Success Stories
How can government be more efficient? Try these for starters (and
click here for a complete
list of full stories):
UW’s $1.3
million "day of reflection"
posted on 4/22/03 - WW35
The University of Washington temporarily stopped classes for a "time
of reflection" on the war in Iraq...more
Don't spend millions
for billionaires
posted on 2/28/03 - WW34
King County is building a $36 million sewage treatment and irrigation
plant in Redmond, but so far the only private customer is the Willows
Run Golf Course, owned by multi-billionaire Paul Allen and his brother-in-law...more
Get DSHS off the
phone
posted on 2/28/03 - WW33
Washington's Department of Social and Health Services operates 400
different toll-free hotlines at a cost to taxpayers of more than $350,000
per year. These lines include a year-round public survey and polling
hotline, a "holiday magic" hotline, and a hotline for folks
who want help setting up a phone line in their home...more
Don't make ratepayers
fund political consultants
posted on 2/28/03 - WW32
Seattle City Light, the nation's ninth largest public utility, has
a public relations budget of $2.5 million per year...more
Spend less on
Hummers and skateboard guys
posted on 2/27/03 - WW31
Washington state spent $369,000 to rent a Hummer and two "skateboard
guys" to visit school districts around the state on a sixteen-week
"Tobacco Smokes You Hummer Road Tour"...more
State auditor
finds more waste
posted on 2/14/03 - WW30
The state auditor has published his 2002 annual report on government.
Keep in mind as you read these "lowlights" that he is not
permitted to do comprehensive performance audits. These are the findings
of a limited financial audit...more
Be accountable
with Developmental Disabilities benefits
posted on 2/11/03 - WW29
During the last five years more than 5,000 recipients of our state's
Developmental Disabilities benefits were (or are) ineligible for the
services. The cost to taxpayers for this rule-breaking: $19,545,258...more
Spend a little
less on fish
posted on 2/11/03 - WW28
State and federal officials admit they can't put their finger on any
actual results for the billions spent on salmon recovery...more
Don't forget who
pays public salaries in Tacoma
posted on 2/07/03 - WW27
Salaries for public employees in the City of Tacoma have increased
by an average of 6.4 percent this year, nearly three times the cost-of-living
growth for the area...more
Sell the private
jet
posted on 2/05/03 - WW25
Some Washington State Patrol officials think a $3 million 1991 Model
Beechjet is essential to their operations...more
Reform retire-rehire
law
posted on 1/31/03 - WW24
Dennis Cooper, the state's chief code revisor, recently "retired"
for a month, then came back to work where he started collecting thousands
of dollars in pension payments on top of his regular $9,064 monthly
salary...more
Learn to communicate
in Shoreline schools
posted on 1/31/03 - WW23
The Shoreline School District is dealing with a $7.2 million deficit
brought on by what district officials call "miscommunication"
and "accounting errors"...more
Turn street lights
on and art funding off
posted on 1/31/03 - WW22
City of Tacoma turns off street lights to save money while approving
hundreds of thousands for new public art grants...more
Take
illegal aliens off welfare (and keep them off)
posted on 1/6/03 - WW21
The Department of Social & Health Services is determined to help
illegal aliens receive free medical coverage, even after one state-funded
program expired on October 1, 2002...more
Tighten the belt
on the Basic Health Plan
posted on 1/6/03 - WW20
The Health Care Authority asked some Basic Health Plan members to
prove income eligibility, and over half couldn't cough up the documentation.
That means eligible people on the waiting list go without benefits
while unqualified members take their place...more
Cuff the
Caretaker
posted on 1/6/03 - WW19
A recent investigation by the State Auditor's Office found that nearly
$30,000 in extra checks were paid to a former county caretaker between
1998 and 2001...more
Cure the Liquor
Board's accounting hiccups
posted on 12/27/02 - WW15
A useless $32 million warehouse? Unaccounted sales of over $400 million?
Over $800,000 in false billing records? Has anything changed at the
Liquor Control Board?...more
Pay employees
to work, not to call in sick
posted on 12/26/02 - WW14
Professors at the Evergreen State College are allowed 210 paid sick
days each year. That's right, two-hundred and ten...more
Turn in thieves
posted on 12/26/02
- WW13
DSHS employees knew about an investigation of up to $156,000 in stolen
veteran's benefits, but according to state law they couldn't say anything...more
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