"Improving the performance of government so that it improves the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians."
- Jack Wagner
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Auditor General Jack Wagner stands in front of the Haynes St. Bridge in Johnstown pointing out the rusted rebar and exposed cables to the reporters. General Wagner renews his call for Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to make transportation and infrastructure bill their No. 1 legislative priority.
JOHNSTOWN, May 10, 2012 – Cambria County motorists are nine times as likely to pass a structurally deficient bridge than a McDonald’s restaurant, said Auditor General Jack Wagner, who again today called on Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to make passage of a comprehensive transportation and infrastructure bill their No. 1 legislative priority this spring.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 8, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today announced that free management training seminars for Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Associations will be offered May 21-24 at four different Pennsylvania locations. VFRAs are the financial arm of volunteer fire departments. The Auditor General audits 1,955 VFRAs
PHILADELPHIA, April 25, 2012 – Philadelphia motorists are twice as likely to pass a structurally deficient bridge than a McDonald’s restaurant, said Auditor General Jack Wagner, who today renewed his call for Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to make passage of a comprehensive transportation and infrastructure bill their No. 1 legislative priority this spring.
Auditor General Jack Wagner holds a press conference under the 28th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh to renew his call for Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to make the transportation and infrastructure bill their No. 1 legislative priority.
PITTSBURGH, April 20, 2012 – Allegheny County motorists are eight times more likely to pass a structurally deficient bridge than a McDonald’s restaurant, said Auditor General Jack Wagner, who today renewed his call for Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to make passage of a comprehensive transportation and infrastructure bill their No. 1 legislative priority this spring.
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 11, 2012 – Pennsylvania motorists are 10 times more likely to pass a structurally deficient bridge than a McDonald’s restaurant, said Auditor General Jack Wagner, who today renewed his call for Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to make passage of a comprehensive transportation and infrastructure bill their No. 1 legislative priority this spring.
Auditor General Jack Wagner testified on March 15, 2012 to the House Health Committee on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Weatherization Assistance Program.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 28, 2012 – Despite an extra $252 million in federal stimulus money, the number of Pennsylvanians on a waiting list for home repairs under the Weatherization Assistance Program has nearly doubled over the past five years, Auditor General Jack Wagner said today.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 23, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today issued to the public a letter he sent this week to Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Officer Roger E. Nutt, reiterating his belief that the turnpike’s mounting debt posed a long-term threat to Pennsylvania motorists and taxpayers.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 16, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today he would broaden his look at the Department of Public Welfare for paying millions of dollars to contract for psychiatrists and other medical personnel after a special performance audit uncovered a tangle of ethical conflicts, questionable billings, poor supervision and other administrative shortcomings at a Westmoreland County state hospital.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 13, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today reminded Pennsylvania homeowners that March 1 is the deadline to apply for property tax relief they are entitled to from legalized gambling revenues.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 8, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today said that he was forwarding to the Monroe County district attorney a copy of his recently completed performance audit of the Pocono Mountain Charter School after his auditors uncovered questionable financial transactions that may have violated Pennsylvania’s charter school law.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 1, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the State Workers’ Insurance Fund, the largest workers’ compensation insurance carrier in Pennsylvania, paid nearly $4.9 million over a two-year period to a Pennsylvania-based claims services and medical management company to help manage operations and save money, but SWIF failed to hold the contractor accountable to terms of the contract and many of the expected outcomes were not achieved.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 5, 2012 – Auditor General Jack Wagner warned today that Pennsylvania taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars of additional debt if the General Assembly does not soon amend or appeal Act 44 of 2007, which requires the Turnpike Commission to provide $450 million a year in infrastructure funding to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 28, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special investigation of the Reading School District determined that the school’s former superintendent and other high-ranking officials violated state law by using the district’s food service department and outside caterers to inappropriately provide more than $76,000 in lavishly catered meals for school board and administrative meetings and other social events over a 3 1/2-year period.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 13, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner has asked Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to block the Delaware River Port Authority’s plan to spend $20 million of $29.9 million in unused economic development funds on several private-sector projects that include the rebuilding of a rowing course and construction of a cancer center.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 6, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today urged the General Assembly to fix an oversight in an education reform bill that recently passed the Senate to address the flawed charter school funding formula, which, he said, is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 30, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today said that he could not support proposed legislation to privatize the state’s liquor stores because it is a bad deal for both taxpayers and consumers.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 15, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today recommended that the U.S. Department of Education initiate administrative proceedings to recover approximately $834,000 of misspent federal grant funds received by the School District of the City of York through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Program. Wagner also found that the district and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which administers the federally funded program, wasted the balance of grant funds allotted to the district by the end of the grant year to avoid having to return unspent grant money to the federal government.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 25, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today called for increased investment in Pennsylvania's crumbling roads and bridges, saying that new spending would improve public safety and the state's economic competitiveness while creating thousands of new jobs for out-of-work Pennsylvanians.
HARRISBURG, (Oct. 19, 2011) – Due to a one-time increase in premiums taxes collected during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, Pennsylvania’s 2,500 Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Associations will receive a 57% increase in funds from the Foreign Fire Fund and the Foreign Casualty Fund. VFRAs, the financial arm of volunteer fire departments, receive state aid from a 2-percent state tax on fire insurance purchased by Pennsylvania residents from insurance companies incorporated outside of the commonwealth.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 6, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that 87 percent of Pennsylvania’s 1,488 municipalities receiving state aid for their pension plans covering fire, police and non-uniformed personnel will receive a one-time funding increase this year because of the commonwealth’s stepped-up effort to collect a 2-percent tax on out-of-state companies that sold casualty insurance policies to Pennsylvania residents.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 4, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that changing Pennsylvania’s awarding of Electoral College votes from a winner-take-all format to one based on results in individual Congressional districts could cost the commonwealth millions of dollars of economic activity during next year’s presidential race.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 14, 2011 -- Pennsylvanians receiving public assistance made $5.2 million in out-of-state purchases or cash withdrawals in May 2010 using Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, but the Department of the Auditor General could not analyze the legality of any of the 94,947 transactions because the Department of Public Welfare, which issues the debit cards, refused repeated requests to provide records and supporting documentation, Auditor General Jack Wagner said today.
HARRISBURG, Sept. 1, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today notified four Pennsylvania school districts that his department will audit provisions of their recent superintendent contract buyouts.
Auditor General Jack Wagner outlines the findings of an audit on the Liquor Control Board's wine kiosks and liquor stores in Pennsylvania. The press conference was held in Harrisburg, PA.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 30, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner commended the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s innovative attempt to expand customer convenience and boost profits by placing wine kiosks in grocery stores, but a special performance audit, released today by his department, found that the program fell short of established goals in large part because of mechanical malfunctions that caused the PLCB to shut down all 29 operating kiosks during the busy Christmas season.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 23, 2011 –Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he was initiating a new policy of immediately auditing school superintendent separation agreements so that full details of buyouts would be available to taxpayers.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 10, 2011 –Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that widespread deficiencies first identified in the Department of Public Welfare’s administration of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program four years ago still exist today – even after seven state employees were convicted of theft and other crimes and DPW spent more than $800,000 on a private firm hired to help fix the problems.
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 20, 2011 - For the second consecutive year, the Department of the Auditor General has been recognized for its excellence in accountability of state government programs by the National State Auditors Association.
PITTSBURGH, June 30, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner’s 25th annual Sharing & Caring golf tournament, which benefits disabled military veterans, will be held July 11 at Edgewood Country Club.
Auditor General Jack Wagner speaks at a press conference in Harrisburg where he released a report outlining the testimony received at a series of statewide hearings on the use of tobacco settlement funds.
HARRISBURG, PA, June 2, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today released a special report with the results of five statewide public hearings about how millions of incoming tobacco settlement dollars should be used. He said that public testimony was clear: the Governor and General Assembly should use settlement dollars for health-related programs as mandated by the Tobacco Settlement Act, Act 77 of 2001.
HARRISBURG, PA, April 21, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner announced today that he will hold a series of public meetings around the commonwealth over the next three weeks to solicit public comment about whether $370 million a-year in tobacco settlement funds should continue to be spent on health-related items, such as cancer research, smoking prevention and cessation, and adultBasic health insurance for working Pennsylvanians, or on other budget priorities.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 24, 2011) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the city of Pittsburgh’s pension plans for uniformed and non-uniformed workers are severely underfunded and that additional concrete steps must be taken to boost contributions and protect pensioners, taxpayers and the city’s municipal bond rating.
Auditor General Jack Wagner Identifies $1.3 B in Savings
Auditor General Jack Wagner holds a scalpel at a press conference insisting that the PA state budget needs to be trimmed with the precision of the scalpel rather than chopped with an axe.
HARRISBURG, Mar. 28, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today called for statewide hearings about how tobacco settlement dollars should be spent to determine if the money should be used according to the original intentions, such as providing subsidized health insurance for low-income Pennsylvanians, or if new priorities should be established.
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 16, 2011 – With violence remaining a chronic problem in Philadelphia schools, Auditor General Jack Wagner today urged the state Department of Education to fund the Safe Schools Advocate’s office, which was created to help the School District of Philadelphia address parents’ concerns over school safety.
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 3, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today recommended that Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly use incoming tobacco settlement dollars as intended to provide adultBasic health insurance to Pennsylvanians who don’t qualify for Medicaid. He said that $1.34 billion in tobacco settlement funds have already been quietly diverted from the uses originally intended by the Tobacco Settlement Act of 2001.
HARRISBURG (February 15, 2011) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today recommended that the Marcus Hook Trainer Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association, in Delaware County, strengthen controls over its finances after a former treasurer stole over $11,000 from the VFRA and its predecessor.
HARRISBURG (Feb. 10, 2011) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that his auditors found so many errors in the State Tax Equalization Board’s revised property market values for 2008 that it has raised questions about the accuracy of the 2009 report and the coming 2010 property report, which is scheduled for release in July.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 3, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that time was running out for Pennsylvania homeowners to obtain property tax relief from casino revenue.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 13, 2011 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today urged Luzerne County Community College to recoup approximately $87,000 in additional money that was stolen from the college cafeteria by an associate dean of the college. Wagner said that a special investigation performed by his department found that the associate dean, Peter Paul Moses, actually pocketed at least $104,000 in cash from the cafeteria.
HARRISBURG, (Jan. 4, 2011) – As a follow up to his announcement on Dec. 22, Auditor General Jack Wagner recently outlined the objectives of his department’s special performance audit of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s wine kiosks program in a hand-delivered letter to Patrick J. Stapleton, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec, 30, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner has responded to a letter he received from Gov. Ed Rendell, dated Dec., 20, concerning the error rate in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 23, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today commended the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for reversing course and announcing it would print new toll rates on its tickets.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec, 22, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he would conduct a special performance audit of the Liquor Control Board’s wine kiosks, which malfunctioned and were shut down Tuesday night until early next year.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 20, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he stood by the Department of the Auditor General’s finding of double-digit error rates in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program, and cast doubt on a federal report that coincided with the commonwealth’s claim that the program’s error rate was only 4 percent.
HARRISBURG, PA, Dec. 15, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board failed to adhere to state procurement procedures and failed to comply with the Sunshine Act in the awarding of $7 million in contracts for legal and other professional services through competitive sealed bid, emergency, and sole-source contracts.
HARRISBURG, PA, Dec. 9, 2010 - Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he will not sign Gov. Rendell’s $650 million bond issue, calling it a bad deal for taxpayers because of its unprecedented size and because it increases Pennsylvania’s debt load during a time of financial peril.
HARRISBURG, PA, Dec. 7, 2010 - Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors provided employees of the Department of Community and Economic Development – who were responsible for evaluating and ultimately awarding the association a state training contract – with gifts including luncheons and free lodging and conference expenses at a lavish resort.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 24, 2010 – With the tax season quickly approaching, Auditor General Jack Wagner today reminded Pennsylvanians that the application period for property tax relief begins in December and ends March 1, 2011, and that homeowners should ensure that they have filed an application for property tax relief associated with slots casino revenues.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 4, 2010 – With growing concern over the safety of underground pipelines, Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Department of Labor and Industry must improve its oversight of the Pennsylvania One Call System through adequate enforcement of the Underground Utility Line Protection Law, which was enacted to protect the health and safety of excavators, residents and property in Pennsylvania.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 28, 2010 – Sculptures by a famous artist, an almost 800-year-old Turkish gold ring, and a Civil War-era rifle are among the more than 1,800 historic artifacts that the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission cannot locate and are considered missing, Auditor General Jack Wagner said.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 25, 2010 - Auditor GeneralJack Wagner said today that a special investigation of Dallas School District in Luzerne County found that a former athletic director misappropriated school district checks over a six-year period, totaling $55,829.98, and used the funds for his personal benefit. John Wolensky, a former athletic director, coach, and guidance counselor, diverted a total of 231 checks from multiple sources into a private checking account under his control and also pocketed $4,869 from the school district’s athletic fund that was supposed to be distributed in cash to student-athletes for meal money on trips.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 5, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today called for a statewide moratorium on the creation of new charter and cyber charter schools until the General Assembly and the Rendell Administration fix a flawed funding system that bears no connection to the actual cost of educating children and is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in additional questionable spending.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 29, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the next governor and General Assembly will be confronted with one of the greatest fiscal crises in state history – a potential $5 billion budget gap created by a $2.5 billion loss in federal stimulus funds, $3 billion in unemployment payments to the federal government, and an increase of at least $800 million for rising pension costs.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 22, 2010 - Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the General Assembly should give Pennsylvania’s governor the power to veto resolutions approved by the state’s representatives on the Delaware River Port Authority board.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 1, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that his special investigation has concluded that the Chester County Intermediate Unit improperly circumvented state pension rules by paying a salary to its former executive director, John K. Baillie, for a period of six months after his retirement while he also collected $79,083 in payments from the state pension system.
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 27, 2010 - Auditor General Jack Wagner sent a letter yesterday to John Estey, the chairman of the Delaware River Port Authority, calling for ten categories of reforms to be instituted at the authority in light of revelations of management and fiscal improprieties at the authority over the past several weeks.
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 23, 2010 - Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Department of the Auditor General will conduct a special performance audit of the State Tax Equalization Board.
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 22, 2010 - Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that, with 60 percent of Pennsylvanians due to have their electricity rates uncapped at the end of this year, the Public Utility Commission, state government and electric utilities should do more to educate consumers about electricity rate increases resulting from the rate-cap expiration.
HARRISBURG, (July 15, 2010) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today announced the fall schedule for free workshops offered to officers and members of volunteer fire departments across the commonwealth, providing operational guidelines for Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Associations.
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 8, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Department of Public Welfare did not spend federal stimulus money to help low-income families needing child care assistance even though a large number of families were waiting for the services.
HARRISBURG (July 7, 2010) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today thanked Pennsylvania volunteer firefighters for helping to keep their communities safe from disaster and for making the 2010 spring Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association workshops successful.
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 6, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner’s 24th annual Sharing & Caring golf tournament, which benefits disabled military veterans, will be held July 12 at Edgewood Country Club.
HARRISBURG, PA., June 23, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that seven board members and a school principal at the Mid Valley School District in Lackawanna County attended a National School Board Association conference in 2008 in Orlando, Fla., without approving the trip at a public meeting, and rang up $36,478 in undocumented or excessive expenditures paid by taxpayers.
Auditor General Jack Wagner being interviewed by FOX 43 after the Megan's Law press conference.
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 22, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the state’s Megan’s Law website has improved in recent years but it still has significant problems with accuracy and usefulness.
HARRISBURG, June 17, 2010 -- Auditor General Jack Wagner today praised Gov. Ed Rendell's decision to name Adjutant General Jessica Wright to the State Civil Service Commission.
HARRISBURG (May 28, 2010) – With more veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan and the state's unemployment rate still stubbornly high this Memorial Day, Auditor General Jack Wagner renewed his call for the Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission to increase enforcement of veterans’ preference provisions in the filling of state jobs.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 25, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today praised legislation he said will strengthen and improve the Weatherization Assistance Program in Pennsylvania, but he offered some suggestions he believes will make the bill stronger.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 14, 2010 –Auditor General Jack Wagner reiterated his call for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to provide his department with information related to its exposure to interest-rate swap agreements.
HARRISBURG (May 11, 2010) – The National State Auditors Association, a national organization representing state agencies and promoting effective financial management in state government, has given its 2010 “Excellence in Accountability Award” to the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General for its audit of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare’s Special Allowance Program. The award is given annually to a state audit agency in recognition of government auditing excellence for a large performance audit, and it is the first time in recent years that such an award was won by the Pennsylvania Department of Auditor General.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 10, 2010 –Auditor General Jack Wagner today asked the Department of Community and Economic Development to strengthen its oversight of school districts’ and local municipalities’ interest-rate swaps agreements to make the cost of these risky transactions more open and transparent to taxpayers.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 5, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today said the Department of Health failed to oversee HIV/AIDS Prevention Program money, resulting in the potential for fraud, including the payment of $223,000 to one contractor who submitted duplicate invoices.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 5, 2010 –Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that Pennsylvania taxpayers could end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars to bail out transportation agencies that have financed billions of dollars of public debt with risky derivative contracts known as interest-rate swaps.
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 27, 2010 – With financial reform taking center stage in the national spotlight, Auditor General Jack Wagner continues to advocate for similar reforms in Pennsylvania related to risky debt financing schemes known as “swaps.”
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 26, 2010 – Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner today commended Gov. Ed Rendell for offering a tax amnesty program to taxpayers who are delinquent in their state taxes.
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 21, 2010 – Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner today reiterated his call for the School District of Philadelphia to provide his department with information related to the school district’s exposure to interest-rate swap agreements.
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 9, 2010 – Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner today said that a recent review by his department found that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has more than $2.23 billion in debt tied to 26 active interest-rate swaps.
(Left to Right) Sen. Lisa Boscola, Auditor General Jack Wagner, Sen. Pat Browne promoting legislation to ban school districts and local governments from entering into interest-rate swap agreements.
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 16, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today joined Sen. Lisa Boscola (D- Lehigh/Monroe/Northampton) and Sen. Patrick Browne (R- Lehigh/Monroe/Northampton) to promote legislation that would ban school districts, local governments and municipal authorities from risking taxpayer money in interest-rate swap agreements.
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 10, 2010 – Saying that he believed there were still tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who are interested in receiving property tax rebates from slots casino revenue, Auditor General Jack Wagner today again asked Gov. Rendell to extend the filing deadline to April 15.
HARRISBURG, March 9, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today announced policy changes that will expand the equipment and services that local volunteer fire departments may legally purchase with Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association funds.
HARRISBURG (March 4, 2010) – Auditor General Jack Wagner will join the American Lung Association in its “Fight for Air Climb,” beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, for a fundraising drive in the fight against lung disease, where hundreds of people will try to make their way up 38 floors of stairs in a climb to the top of the Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh at 707 Grant Street.
HARRISBURG (March 3, 2010) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today urged the General Assembly to ban municipal authorities in the state from attaching risky interest-rate swaps to new debt financed by bond issues.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 19, 2010 – As Iran continues to defy the international community by enriching their uranium stockpiles, federal law may soon require further sanctions against foreign companies that have invested in Iran’s energy/oil infrastructure. However, while the current federal legislation gives the White House the option to impose such sanctions, the U.S. Senate recently passed legislation that would mainly require mandatory sanctions on those foreign companies.
HARRISBURG, Feb. 16, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today announced the spring schedule for free workshops offered to officers and members of volunteer fire departments across the commonwealth, providing operational guidelines for Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Associations.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 9, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today commended Erie School District for terminating its interest rate swap agreement, which netted the school district almost $2 million.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 9, 2010 -- The following statement was issued today by Auditor General Jack Wagner:
“I have supported Jack Murtha since I was a student in college, attending IUP on the GI Bill, and he was the first Vietnam veteran running for Congress. Jack Murtha will be remembered as a towering figure in modern Pennsylvania politics.”
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 28, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today renewed his call for the Department of Public Welfare to tighten its oversight of Medicaid eligibility reviews.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 15, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today repeated his call for the General Assembly to ban local governments from engaging in interest-rate swaps after pointing out that 13 investment banks underwriting swaps in Pennsylvania are expected to award over $60 billion in executive bonuses this year.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 8, 2010 – Auditor General Jack Wagner will participate in the Celebrity Cow Milking Contest at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15 at in the Equine Arena at the 2010 Pennsylvania Farm Show.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 28, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today commended the Delaware River Port Authority today for unanimously approving his resolution to prohibit the agency from entering in to financially risky interest-rate swaps.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 24, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the failed inspection and subsequent closing of the Capitol cafeteria further highlight the need for food safety legislation he has championed for the past four years.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 21, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today released the following statement regarding the resolution of litigation between the Department of the Auditor General and the City of Hazleton and the city’s aggregate pension fund, City of Hazleton et al. v. Department of the Auditor General, No. 1220 CD 2009, (Pa. Commonwealth Court). Wagner’s statement is preceded by a summary of the case.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 17, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today sent a letter to every school district in Pennsylvania, urging them to refrain from using interest-rate swaps and to terminate any swaps agreements they may have.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 9, 2009 – As the General Assembly continues to work on table-games legislation, one out of five Pennsylvania school districts are gambling with taxpayer money in investment schemes that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 3, 2009 – A year after the taxpayers bailed out Wall Street, no action has been taken to curb unregulated financial derivatives and local taxpayers may be paying the price, says Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner. In particular danger are school districts and other local governments and government agencies that are betting taxpayer money on the direction of interest rates. Wagner wants officials to take aggressive defensive moves to protect the taxpayers they serve from the enormous losses possible from what he has called “gambling with public funds.”
HARRISBURG (Dec. 2, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today thanked Pennsylvania volunteer firefighters for helping to keep their communities safe from disaster and for making the 2009 fall Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association workshops successful.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 1, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today urged the General Assembly to restore greater competition to the commonwealth’s $4-billion-a-year procurement process for goods and services.
HARRISBURG (Nov. 25, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that Pennsylvania school districts and local governments that claim they are profiting from interest-rate swaps should still divest themselves of these risky investments, because sudden movements in interest rates and other factors could result in millions of dollars of financial losses.
HARRISBURG (Nov. 18, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the General Assembly should ban the use of “swaps,” after a special investigation completed by his department found that the Bethlehem Area School District lost at least $10.2 million of taxpayers’ money in these risky and complex financial instruments. Wagner also recommended that all Pennsylvania school districts, local governments, and municipal authorities stop entering into swap agreements and immediately terminate any active swaps to which they are a party.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 27, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that if the Rendell administration did not voluntarily change the way it bids state contracts he would press the General Assembly for new legislation to make bidding more competitive and less expensive to taxpayers.
Auditor General Jack Wagner responds to comments from Rendell in a follow-up press conference from an audit of Department of General Services. DGS is spending $592 million in technology contracts with this single-vendor Deloitte Consulting.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 21, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today called for the Rendell administration to reform its process of awarding contracts to private vendors after finding the state paid $592 million to Deloitte Consulting LLP for computer-related services over a four-year period while also giving it an additional $2.25 million in economic-development grants to help it service those same state contracts.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 14, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he will ban all employees of the Department of the Auditor General from texting while driving.
HARRISBURG (Oct. 7, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special investigation found that the Bethlehem Area School District maintained inadequate controls over more than $11.5 million of laptop computers. Wagner’s investigators also faulted administrators’ oversight of an internal investigation related to the drug arrest of a former middle-school principal that cost the district $52,726.
HARRISBURG, (Oct. 1, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special performance audit, released today, found licensing deficiencies in the Department of Aging’s administration of the Older Adult Daily Living Center Program.
HARRISBURG (Sept. 3, 2009) – The annual Sharing & Caring riverboat cruise for disabled military veterans will be held Sept. 8-11. An estimated 1,000 veterans, many of whom are confined to hospitals and nursing homes, will receive lunch and a cruise on the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s Majestic. Docking begins at 10 a.m. each day at the Gateway Clipper’s Station Square location, and the cruise starts at 11 a.m.
HARRISBURG, PA, Sept. 1, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today called on Gov. Rendell’s budget advisers and leaders of the General Assembly to meet around the clock until an agreement is reached on a budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 27, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special investigation has determined that the sale of the State Office Building here will cost taxpayers almost $55 million rather than save money, as the Department of General Services asserted when it sold the landmark structure for $4.6 million last April.
HARRISBURG (August 20, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a Department of Public Welfare program that provides cash assistance to welfare recipients seeking employment was rife with mismanagement and poor oversight, creating an environment for potential fraud and abuse that could cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
HARRISBURG, Aug. 12, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that Gov. Rendell and the General Assembly should consider recent revenue suggestions made by him and several Pennsylvania newspapers as a way of ending the commonwealth’s six-week budget impasse.
HARRISBURG (August 4, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special investigation found that two council members in the Borough of Starrucca, Wayne County, were the primary beneficiaries of a council decision to secure a $70,000 loan to renovate a seldom used bridge, without regard to other borough needs or the cost to borough taxpayers.
HARRISBURG, July 9, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today suggested $1.3 billion in fiscal savings to Gov. Rendell and the General Assembly in an effort to help end the commonwealth’s budget impasse.
HARRISBURG, (July 9, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today announced the fall schedule for free workshops offered to officers and members of volunteer fire departments providing operational guidelines for Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Associations.
HARRISBURG, June 11, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner faulted the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole for lapses in oversight of parole agents and parolees, which could result in parolees not being adequately supervised by the state, according to a special performance audit released today of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.
HARRISBURG, June 10, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today urged the Department of Public Welfare to immediately implement all of the recommendations he made two years ago to eliminate the potential for fraud and abuse in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
HARRISBURG, May 29, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that an audit of the Dallastown Area School District in York County found that, because of errors in reporting, the school district was underpaid $87,455 by the Pennsylvania Department of Education from 2002 to 2005.
HARRISBURG, PA., May 28, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board should get the General Assembly to amend the state’s slots casino law to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of investigative agencies in sharing background information about casino owners and employees.
HARRISBURG, PA., May 19, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Bethlehem Area School District, in Northampton County, submitted inaccurate Social Security and Medicare wages data reports to the Department of Education, resulting in reimbursement underpayments to the district of $425,790.
HARRISBURG, PA., May 14, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the New Castle Area School District, in Lawrence County, received $54,784 in state funds to which it was not entitled because it inaccurately reported employee wages to the commonwealth.
Auditor General Jack Wagner points out the potential red flags with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's procurement procedures.
HARRISBURG (April 29, 2009)-- Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board did not violate state law but that it did exercise poor judgment in awarding a $173,820 employee training contract to the husband of a PLCB regional manager, creating the appearance of a conflict of interest.
HARRISBURG (April 22, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that audits completed by his department determined that Kimberly Lehnhardt of Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, misappropriated $55,182 of taxpayer money while employed as a secretary for two different magisterial district courts.
PITTSBURGH, March 25, 2009 -- Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he was reviewing the Pennsylvania Department of General Service’s agreement to sell the State Office Building here for $4.6 million because the transaction amounted to a “fire sale.”
HARRISBURG, March 20, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that his review of a $173,000 contract that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board awarded to a Pittsburgh firm owned by the husband of the PLCB’s regional manager for Western Pennsylvania would focus on the bidding process used for procuring professional services.
HARRISBURG (March 13, 2009) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he would review the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s awarding of a $173,000 contract to a Pittsburgh firm owned by the husband of the PLCB’s regional manager for Western Pennsylvania.
PITTSBURGH, March 2, 2009 -- Auditor General Jack Wagner today said that the commonwealth should postpone plans to sell the State Office Building here because of the weak economy.
Feb. 25, 2009, Auditor General Jack Wagner (center) testifies before the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee.
Feb. 11, 2009, Auditor General Jack Wagner testifies before the Senate Education Committee, advocating new legislation to strengthen school safety in Pennsylvania.
HARRISBURG, Jan. 28, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, through its county assistance offices, failed to make proper Medicaid eligibility determinations on more than 1,600 Medicaid applicants between January 2005 and March 2008, resulting in $3.3 million in improper payments made on behalf of ineligible recipients.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 23, 2009 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today said the Department of General Services must exert greater control over its management of the state’s fleet of 16,637 vehicles, after issuing a report that faulted the agency for weak leadership, incomplete record-keeping and little accountability in how cars were being assigned and maintained.
HARRISBURG, Dec. 22, 2008 – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special performance audit identified weaknesses in the Department of Education’s administration of Classrooms for the Future, a three-year, $155 million initiative whose goal is to put laptop computers in the classrooms of every Pennsylvania public high school.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 16, 2008 -- Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that he was appalled by the Public School Employees’ Retirement System’s decision to award $854,000 in bonuses to 21 employees following the system’s $1.8 billion investment losses this year. Wagner called on the PSERS board of directors to try to recover the bonuses from employees, and he again urged the General Assembly to pass legislation explicitly banning all bonuses in state government.
HARRISBURG, Dec. 11, 2008 – Auditor General Jack Wagner cast thousands of votes while serving as a Pittsburgh city councilman and Pennsylvania senator. On Dec. 15, he will cast one of the most historic ballots in his three decades of public service.
At noon on that date, in the House of Representatives’ chamber, Wagner will cast his vote for president of the United States as a member of Pennsylvania’s 56th Electoral College.
HARRISBURG (Dec. 3, 2008) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that the Department of Education has adopted a hands-off, reactive approach to the task of addressing violence in Pennsylvania schools, impeding its ability to quickly identify dangerous schools and target limited state resources to assist schools that need the most help.
HARRISBURG (Nov. 19, 2008) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that a special performance audit found that, because of inadequate policies and oversight by the State Civil Service Commission, 25 state agencies filled at least 569 civil service employment positions without considering eligible veterans seeking employment, even though the agencies requested employment lists that included these veterans with test scores among the top three highest-scoring job candidates.
HARRISBURG (Nov. 14, 2008) -- Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that, more than one year after he cited the Department of Public Welfare for lax oversight and systemic weaknesses of the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program that permitted more than 1,000 applicants of potential fraud and abuse, the department still had not provided documentation to prove that the potential for fraud and abuse had been eliminated from LIHEAP.
HARRISBURG (Sept. 22, 2008) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that recent audits of the South Allegheny School District in Allegheny County and the Lehighton Area School District in Carbon County again point to the need of local school boards to provide greater public disclosure of superintendent contracts, and tighter superintendent contract provisions, so that Pennsylvania taxpayers are better protected from costly contract buyouts. Wagner said that his auditors determined that more than $1.3 million in taxpayer dollars have been spent to pay for superintendent contract buyouts over the past three years in seven audits of school districts conducted by his department.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Aug. 19, 2008) – Auditor General Jack Wagner today called for a sweeping overhaul of the governing board of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) by replacing eight of the 16 legislators on the 20-member board with financial and academic experts. Currently, PHEAA’s board is comprised of 16 members of the General Assembly (eight each from the House and Senate), the Secretary of Education, and three appointees by Gov. Rendell. This overall conclusion and reform plan was contained in a report issued today and is a result of the Department of the Auditor General’s first-ever special performance audit in PHEAA’s 45-year history. The final report, covering the period of July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007, follows an interim report Wagner issued to PHEAA on Oct. 4, 2007, asking for immediate corrective action.
HARRISBURG, July 22, 2008 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today recommended that the Pennsylvania State Police and the Board of Probation and Parole should request that the General Assembly amend the state’s Megan’s Law to require five years of global positioning system (GPS) monitoring for sex offenders who break the state law requiring them to verify their addresses.
Wagner also recommended that the state police and probation board should request that the General Assembly amend Megan’s Law to require at least five years of GPS monitoring for all sexually violent predators whose victims are children.
HARRISBURG, June 13, 2008 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today recommended that the Turnpike Commission appoint an executive-level safety director to coordinate and oversee all aspects of roadway safety and to hold overall accountability.
Wagner made the recommendation after his compliance audit found weaknesses in the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s collection and analysis of accident data, making it difficult to accurately assess the turnpike’s safety record.
Military veteran leaders present Auditor General Jack Wagner (third from left) with an “Outstanding Service Award” from the Pennsylvania War Veterans Council, January 10, 2008, for his role in getting a bill to help improve veterans’ services signed into law. Presenting the award (left to right) are American Legion Past National Commander Dominic DiFrancesco, State Veterans’ Commission Chairman Paul Hastings, Pennsylvania American Legion Department Commander Bob Miller, Jr., Pennsylvania American Legion Department Adjutant Kit D. Watson, Pennsylvania Disabled American Veterans Past Department Commander Adjutant Timothy Dunn and Pennsylvania American Veterans Executive Director Tom Minchin.
HARRISBURG, PA., Dec. 3, 2007 – Auditor General Jack Wagner today said the time is now for Gov. Rendell and the General Assembly to overhaul the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s board of directors, saying that a change in governing structure is the most significant step needed for permanent reform.
Auditor General Jack Wagner (right) discusses findings in the Department of Community and Economic Development audit report at a press conference with DCED Secretary Dennis Yablonsky.
HARRISBURG, Oct. 31, 2007 – The state’s leading agency for economic development must improve monitoring of financial grants it gives to businesses to help them create or retain jobs, Auditor General Jack Wagner said today.
HARRISBURG (June 14, 2007) – Responding to recent consumer complaints of tainted gasoline in eastern Pennsylvania, Auditor General Jack Wagner today called on the General Assembly to immediately require random testing of gasoline for quality.
HARRISBURG (May 1, 2006) – The Pennsylvania State Police improved its administration of Megan’s Law but must still do better at posting complete and accurate information on its Web site, learning the exact release dates of offenders in prison, and determining the whereabouts of nearly 700 registrants who failed to re-verify their addresses as the law requires.
These findings and others appear in a special performance audit report released today by Auditor General Jack Wagner. The audit covered the period Jan. 24, 2005 to Nov. 22, 2005.
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