State Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) issued the following statement regarding the State Auditor’s report, Department of Parks and Recreation, Weak Procedures Have Led to Inconsistent Budgetary Reporting and Difficulties in Measuring the Impact of Efforts to Keep Parks Open:   

“For years, top officials at the Department of Parks and Recreation have ignored established accounting guidelines in its reporting to hide money from the public.

“With nearly 4,000 employees and a budget of $574 million, State Parks officials still cannot tell the public how much it costs to operate a specific park.

“Last year, top-ranking officials arbitrarily selected 70 parks for closure. They cannot ‘justify the reasonableness of the selections.’

“This is yet another blatant example of budget gamesmanship. I have tried to correct these accounting gimmicks during my tenure as Vice Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee. Top bureaucrats continue to thumb their noses at taxpayers, incapable of reforming the practices of their departments.

“I will aggressively examine these accounting manipulations in the budget hearing process to bring an end to these abuses in government that are costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.”

To read the State Auditor’s full report, please click here.