The Building a Stronger Economy 1.0 and 2.0 grant programs (or BASE grant programs) awarded almost $150 million in federal funds to Kansas businesses for infrastructure development. The Department of Commerce selected which program applicants w...

From 2021 – 2023, Manhattan, Overland Park, and Wichita appeared to use most of their transient guest tax revenue appropriately, but a small portion was inappropriate or unclear. Kansas statute allows cities and counties to charge guests at hot...

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) oversees Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) services to help older adults and people with disabilities. Until 2024, KDADS contracted with Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to ...

This limited-scope audit evaluated the outcomes of the Kansas Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) investigations and audits from calendar years 2021 through 2024, with a focus on financial recoveries and prosecutorial results. The OIG is an...

3 state agencies are responsible for taking and investigating allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Those agencies are the Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), the Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), and the...

The federal government reimburses school districts for meals they serve to students through the National School Lunch Program. Students receive a free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program if they meet 1 of several cr...

The Department of Commerce evaluated BASE 1.0 grant program applicants using a standardized scoring rubric, but it didn’t consistently follow its process or document the Secretary’s final award decisions. The Building a Stronger Economy 1.0 gra...

The Kansas Department of Transportation created the Cost Share Program in 2019 to help fund transportation projects in local communities. In Fall 2019, KDOT awarded $1.19 million in Cost Share Project funds to the City of Great Bend to reconstr...

The Kansas Office of Veterans Services allowed participating Veteran Service Organizations to take fundamentally different approaches in reporting VCAP matching obligations, which may or may not comply with state law. The state’s Veterans Claim...

The Ford County election office administers elections in Ford County, Kansas. This audit was a follow up to a 2024 audit that reviewed Ford County’s ballot reconciliation process for the 2024 primary election. In that audit, we found poll worke...

The Ford County election office administers elections in Ford County, Kansas. We previously reviewed Ford County’s tabulation machine testing practices during the 2022 general election and found their practices were inadequate because they didn...

The state provides funding to school districts for adult students earning a high school diploma through a virtual program. KSDE established a process for districts to submit adult virtual student credits for funding. We reviewed about 5,900 cre...

The Building a Stronger Economy 1.0 grant program (or BASE 1.0 grant program) awarded almost $100 million in federal funds to Kansas businesses for infrastructure development. The Department of Commerce awarded SOFTwarfare a BASE 1.0 grant in A...

In Kansas, state law requires that all water supply systems and wastewater treatment facilities are supervised by a certified water operator. Kansas Department of Health and Environment is responsible for administering Water Supply and Wastewat...

The alternative fuel tax credit has rarely been used since 2007 because of statutory changes that limited its usefulness. The credit provides credits to corporations for 40% of the incremental cost of alternative fuel vehicles or 40% of fueling...

In 2019, state law mandated the creation of an online "transparency database" for the purpose of providing the public with information about economic development programs and recipients. The law also requires the transparency database to have c...

We reviewed Department of Commerce's hiring policies and procedures to determine if they were adequate for staff overseeing financial matters. This was because Commerce hired a staff member in 2020 who pleaded guilty to felonies in Pennsylvania...

Osawatomie State Hospital does not adequately ensure the safety and security of its staff. In terms of physical security, OSH does not have adequate processes to ensure physical security. Security staff patrols of the OSH campus are incomplete ...

This audit includes information about Ford County’s policies and practices to ensure the security of storage units, ballots, and devices used to tabulate votes in the 2022 general election. It is a follow up to an election security audit that w...

State law requires that poll book check-ins balance with cast ballot totals when the polls close on election night. The supervising poll worker at the polling site is responsible for ensuring these totals balance. If they don’t, the discrepancy...

The STAR bonds program allows local governments to use future sales tax revenue for development or redevelopment projects. Commerce officials expect STAR bond districts to improve local quality of life, but they haven’t defined or measured this...

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts are a type of economic development tool in which cities use a property tax increment to help finance development projects. A property tax increment is the amount of property tax generated above a base lev...

Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in Kansas. Kansas receives about $102 million in federal TANF block grants annually. This amount has generally remained sta...

The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) administers state and federal housing programs in Kansas, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is a federal program meant to encourage the develop...

In the 2022-23 school year, the Louisburg school district spent a little more than $31 million. Generally, state law allows districts broad discretion in how they spend their state and local funding, but there are some exceptions. We selected 5...

In Kansas, individuals must pay a 6.5% sales or use tax when purchasing any vehicle that is primarily stored or used in the state. This is paid either at the dealership or at a county treasurer’s office. Ultimately, KDOR is responsible for coll...

The Angel Investor Tax Credit (AITC) program incents investors to invest in Kansas start-up businesses. In exchange for investing in a participating start-up businesses, an investor can receive a tax credit equal to up to 50% of their investmen...

The 6 state universities did not have a shared definition of what diversity, equity, and inclusion activities are, but there were some common themes. The universities provide a variety of DEI-related services and activities such as food pantrie...

The 3 community colleges we reviewed (Butler, Garden City, and Hutchinson) spent an average of $2.8 million annually in college funds such as student tuition, fees, public sources of funding, and other income on athletic departments from fiscal...

The KPERS 3 retirement plan was created by the Legislature to help improve the long-term sustainability of the KPERS trust fund. KPERS 3 is a cash balance plan. There are other types of retirement plans, including defined benefit, defined contr...