The N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation has still not released an audit.

An article in the Greensboro News-Record today notes that state Rep. Alma Adams, who heads the foundation, had previously said she would release the results of an audit in October.

The foundation, which is tied closely to the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, was criticized for its handling of donations to Hurricane Katrina victims and giving college scholarships to relatives of caucus members.

Now that October's over, the paper called for an update:

"They got a little bit behind on our audit so I don't have all the information I want yet," Adams said. The "they" in this case is a private auditing firm hired by the caucus. "My expectation is I'll have something to say before the month is out."

An audit found that the Department of Transportation overpaid for office supplies.

Acting on a hotline tip, state Auditor Les Merritt's review found that the agency did not follow purchasing policies and had a conflict of interest involving a supervisor and an office supply business, Dan Kane reports.

The review found that the DOT inappropriately purchased about $175,000 in office supplies and data processing equipment over a three-year period which should have been purchased from vendors that have negotiated prices with the state.

Those contracts typically save money because vendors are willing to offer lower prices in exchange for high volume sales.

Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett said in a written response to the auditor that his staff would follow purchasing requirements. He said staff would receive more training, both on purchasing and ethics.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

A state review released today of an Anson County nonprofit said that the former executive director was overpaid by roughly $36,000 and had spent more than $6,500 on questionable and "possibly fraudulent" expenditures such as a veterinary bill, car parts and Christmas items.

The executive director of the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition, which has received roughly $400,000 in state funds since 2004, resigned in February as some of the expenditures came to light. The audit found that the coalition's board had "rubber-stamped" many of the expenditures and lacked internal controls to catch misspending, Dan Kane reports.

The questionable spending has also led to an overhaul of the board, with several members replaced. The new board in a letter to the state auditor does not dispute the findings and said it is taking action to recover the money. State Auditor Les Merritt has referred the findings to the attorney general's office.

Chris Mears, a spokesman for the auditor's office, said the coalition's troubles illustrate the need for better oversight of the several thousand nonprofits that receive state funds each year.

State budget proposals by the House and Gov. Mike Easley would award the state auditor's office with an additional $180,000 that would largely go toward nonprofit oversight, but the Senate budget did not include those expenditures and cut another $50,000 from the office.