SACRAMENTO ––Assemblymember
Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, issued the following statement today in
response to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee’s approval of the
audit of California Parks and Recreation Department:
“The
recent discovery of an unreported budget surplus in the Parks
Department represents a gross abuse of taxpayer trust and money, and I
applaud the Joint Legislative Audit Committee for moving forward with
the request to audit the entire California Parks and Recreation
Department.
“This
is only the first step in what must ultimately be a series of permanent
reforms to prevent the lack of oversight that allowed this to happen.
The revelation that 70 state parks, including four in my own district,
were threatened with closure but could have remained open to the public
with these funds is unconscionable. I look forward to the completion of
the audit so we can assess any further mismanagement and implement
policies that will prevent this from occurring in any department again.”