04 Aug 2003 “Items Were Stored Where Anyone Could Help Themselves,” Says State Employee About Missing Government Property

On July 12, referencing a story about federal government employees using government credit cards to get themselves tatoos, I mentioned my frustration that government agencies aren’t aggressively self-audited the way many think-tanks (including the National Center) are.

This story from Baltimore’s WBAL-TV shows the problem at a different level of government. Says a Maryland state employee about state government property, much of it missing: “Items were stored where anyone could help themselves…” Another one says: “This is a mess…” A third says: “”A dishwasher and dental chair may be stored in an old snake-infested barn, but [I] won’t check [because it’s] too dangerous to inventory.”

Bob Erlich, the new governor of Maryland, does not have an easy job. I have no idea why he wanted it.