LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – More than 62,000 state-owned bottles of liquor were found to be missing after the Office of the Auditor General conducted an investigation of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
The investigation revealed that the number of the missing bottles accounted for almost $1 million, approximately 20% of the total inventory.
OAG Office report finds accounting failures.
MORE NEWS: Howell’s Lewis Given Weekly Lions Coach of the Week Award
A letter sent from Doug Ringler, Auditor General, to the MLCC Chair, Kristin Beltzer, highlighted the nature of the audit.
“We organize our findings and observations by audit objective,” Ringler said in the report, “Your agencies provided preliminary responses to the recommendations at the end of our fieldwork.”
Within the report, the OAG found that the MLCC should “improve interface controls to ensure audit logs are complete and covers a sufficient time period and reconciliation procedures are consistently performed.”
What else is in the report?
In the second finding of the report, the OAG determined that the “MLCC did not have sufficient controls to monitor and manage spirit inventory, resulting in excessive and negative spirit inventory balances.”
Ringler also underscored that the Michigan Compiled Laws will determine the next steps for the MLCC which will be responsible for developing a plan to comply with the recommendations and to submit it to the State Budget Office upon completion of an audit.
For the Auditor General report and recommendations, see here.
Clare Representative calls for reform within the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
MORE NEWS: Poll: Nearly Half of Voters Think Officials Involved in Election Fraud
State Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare) called for greater accountability for the MLCC after the audit.
“I’m sorry, but how is it even possible that the MLCC could be so mismanaged that 62,000 bottles of anything could just go missing?” asked Kunse, R-Clare. “There are clearly deep issues within the commission that must be addressed. Just because we are talking about alcohol doesn’t make these problems any less concerning. We would all be fixated on finding solutions if the Department of Corrections said it lost 62,000 prisoners or Treasury said it lost 20 percent of tax revenues.”
Rep. Kunse also rebutted a recent proposal by Governor Gretchen Whitmer that would reduce funding to the OAG, especially after finding that the MLCC gave liquor licenses to several organizations prohibited from selling alcohol.
“This is yet another example of the auditor general finding deep-rooted failures and incompetence within the Whitmer administration,” Kunse said. “It is critical that the Legislature ensure this office remains fully funded so it can continue its essential work. The governor clearly wants the investigations to end so she can continue failing our state and misusing taxpayer dollars. We can never let that happen.”
The budget recommended by the Governor would cut 28% in funding to the Office of the Auditor General, but has received some pushback from legislators, and the OAG.
Leave a Comment
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.