New Jersey gaming regulators have been using state-owned cars to commute to and from work, violating state rules according to a state audit.
The agencies—the state Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Casino Control Commission—has since started new training for all its employees and started a continuing a review of its vehicles.
The state auditor examined the agencies in an audit submitted to Gov. Chris Christie and the Democratic leadership of the Legislature in March. The auditor’s report found that 77 percent of the usage of the division’s fleet of 109 cars was for commuting purposes.
While state rules allow for cars to be used to allow workers to commute from home to state assignments, they aren’t meant to be used for regular commuting to and from work. The audit also found a number of discrepancies in logs for the use of state vehicles.
The audit said the division could save nearly $1 million by eliminating 50 cars and identified an additional $300,000 in potential fuel and maintenance cost savings.
Along with new training, the agencies have also begun moving other state offices—the Division of Civil Rights, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Department of Community Affairs, and the Atlantic City Task Force—into its 64,000-square-foot building after the audit found that significant space at the Commission’s offices was sitting unused.
