Campaign statement from Sam Locke, Democrat candidate for Indiana State Auditor:
Locke announces more innovations by targeting State waste
Sam Locke, Democratic Candidate for State Auditor, announced last week he will unveil four major innovations planned for the office should he be elected by Hoosier voters on November 2nd. Locke began by proposing more elaborate payable and contract audits and continues this week by discussing several ideas the Auditor’s office can explore to curb waste. Locke said, “The Auditor’s role in processing billions in payments on behalf of Hoosiers should be used to make the Office a watchdog for Hoosiers, holding those who waste taxpayer dollars
accountable.”Examples of waste seem to abound in State government – small dollar waste like over-priced office supplies and millions wasted on logo-bearing trinkets, colossal incidents of waste like the recent IBM/FSSA debacle, and even abuse of publicly financed travel.
Locke said, “While the Auditor does not have the power to stop an agency from spending properly legislated funds, it does have the power to be a vocal advocate for Hoosier taxpayers, using the ‘power of the pulpit’ to disseminate expenditure information, a critical gap of the recently unveiled transparency portal.”
Additionally, Locke will implement or advocate for the following ideas aimed at cutting waste in State government:
- Publishing reports weekly on a randomly selected State agency’s spending habits as a mechanism for additional transparency and placing agency directors on notice that Hoosiers will gain information on their spending decisions.
- Using information coordinated by the Auditor to advocate for better purchasing efficiencies.
- Expanding the transparency portal to include travel vouchers and state vehicle mileage logs for elected officials and agency directors.
- More advanced payable audits (as described last week).
- Encourage the development of a program to incentivize state employees and private citizens to develop ideas which lead to significant waste being trimmed from the State budget.
Locke concluded, “These ideas, and others we’ve talked about along the campaign trail, will ensure the office acts as an independent voice
for Hoosier taxpayers and moves away from its current role as a bureaucratic payment processor.”For more information on Locke’s campaign, please visit www.lockeforauditor.com.