Oversight failures by state officials resulted in the misallocation of over $29 million in federal pandemic relief funds that may now have to be repaid by taxpayers, according to Oklahoma Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd.
Byrd’s office on Tuesday released an audit report (pdf) that looked into around $14 billion in Oklahoma state spending in fiscal year 2021, with the bulk of it related to COVID-19 relief funds.
“The State of Oklahoma dropped the ball on compliance and oversight,” Byrd said in a statement.
Cindy Byrd, Oklahoma state auditor and inspector, is pictured during inaugural ceremonies in Oklahoma City, on Jan. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
The scathing audit report found a total of 82 instances in Oklahoma of questioned federal costs amounting to $29.3 million, which refers to spending that failed to line up with grant objectives….