Office of Auditor General faces 28% cut in governor’s proposal

State Rep. Cam Cavitt is criticizing a recent proposal by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to drastically reduce funding for the nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General (OAG), which has exposed incompetence, inefficiency, and fraud in its reviews of state agencies and programs.

“This proposed budget cut should serve as a warning to all other state agencies: if you make the governor mad, she will weaponize your budget until you either submit or your phones get shut off because you couldn’t afford to pay the bill,” said Cavitt, R-Cheboygan. “The Auditor General must remain fully funded. Their important work verifies the integrity of state agencies and uncovers mismanagement at all levels. Just because that mismanagement occurred under the Whitmer administration doesn’t mean she should have the authority to slash their ability to operate.”

Numerous audits by the OAG in recent years have exposed deep-rooted problems in the Whitmer Administration and other parts of state government. Most notably, a series of five audits, requested by House Republicans in 2020 and wrapped up in December of last year, helped expose billions of dollars in fraud and improper payments by Whitmer’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The OAG even exposed instances where state departments continued to misuse funds even after problems had been found and subsequently ignored.

“The governor clearly doesn’t care about reducing state spending. She’s proposing $8 million in cuts to hide over $8 billion in waste by her own unemployment agency,” Cavitt said. “A billion dollars would go a long way in Northeast Michigan. It’s frustrating to see the governor try to protect departments who mismanage taxpayer dollars just to protect her own reputation.”

The governor’s proposed $8.3 million net budget cut to the people’s watchdog is coming under further scrutiny after Auditor General Doug Ringler’s Wednesday morning letter to House and Senate leaders. Ringler explained how the 28% funding reduction would kneecap the OAG’s ability to fulfill audit requirements and could even put federal funding at risk.

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