Abraham Stirs The Pot At DOT And Triggers Flurry Of Activity At The Statehouse

By Dick Pettys
InsiderAdvantage Georgia

(12/13/07) Living up to her reputation as a turnaround expert for troubled state agencies, Gena Abraham, the new DOT commissioner, is stirring the pot at an agency that hasn’t seen change for many years. The proof of that is in the flurry of meetings at the Capitol Tuesday and Wednesday that involved the governor, lieutenant governor, House speaker, DOT board members and some top legislators, at various times.

For those who wondered, that’s why some DOT board meetings were abruptly cancelled or re-scheduled this week, as the new DOT commissioner briefed the state’s high command - and members of her own board - on what she needs to do to drag the department into the 21st Century.

She outlined some of the problems she’s found during a speech on Tuesday to the InsiderAdvantage / James Magazine transportation summit, saying she got varying answers when she asked how many projects the department had in the works. The first answer was 1,100. That eventually grew to 9,211.

“If we can’t answer the basic question of how many projects we have, I understand clearly why we’re not delivering our program,” she told conference attendees.

She outlined even more on Wednesday when she and members of the board - a few at a time - met with the governor. The meeting was closed because there was never a quorum present. But Abraham and Board Chairman Mike Evans discussed the meetings later with reporters.

For example, Abraham said the agency has five separate accounting systems, only two of which talk to each other while three do not.

“I couldn’t get a financial statement - basic answers ... So I’ve already called in the troops with the state accounting office and Russell (Hinton, the state auditor) to come in and say, help me get to the bottom of why I can’t produce a financial statement ... and it’s because we have this IT system supporting different components of the projects.”

Too, she said she’s found a huge cost overrun in the governor’s Fast Forward program designed to get projects on the ground faster. What should have, in essence, been a $3 billion program now looks to be headed to $5.9 billion, she said. “We’re still digging” for more information on that, she said.

And, she said there’s no real indication anyone in the agency is managing the 1,553 lawsuits pending against the department.

She said the department’s Human Resources program is fragmented, and she said she’s troubled by a system which allows for DOT staffers who play key roles on projects to also be part of the selection team that chooses consultants for those projects.

One issue is the unquestioned network of relationships between senior managers at DOT and their former bosses who, having taken advantage of the state’s lucrative retirement system, now work as consultants in the private sector.

“To ensure you don’t have any problems - and we haven’t found any problems - you’ve got to make sure you’ve got an arms-length transaction at all times because of those relationships you build, and because you foster an environment that could get into trouble if you’re not careful,” said Evans.

Both stressed in an interview with InsiderAdvantage that they had found no evidence of fraud or corruption, and both said they are convinced the agency is staffed with dedicated workers.

“The problem is not the people,” said Evans. “The problem is the process. It’s an old, tired, broken process that so desperately needs fixing. And we’ve got the right person to not only find the problems but fix ‘em. We’ve just got to give her all the help she can stand as she tries to do that.”

House Speaker Glenn Richardson, who was briefed Tuesday by Abraham, said:

"First of all, Commissioner Abraham should be commended for talking about these issues and committing to change. The problems within DOT that have been uncovered after years of buildup are the fault of no particular person but rather of a flawed system. I am committed to working with Commissioner Abraham and Representative Vance Smith to do all that the House can do to find solutions and address Georgia's pressing transportation needs."

House Majority Leader Jerry Keen said: "It's obviously time for more openness from the Department of Transportation and that is one of the reasons that the House of Representatives has asked for audits of the department in the past. I have every confidence in Representative Vance Smith and his ability to work with Commissioner Abraham to get DOT back on the right track."

Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis said: “I have to commend Commissioner Abraham and Board Chairman Mike Evans in their due diligence to make DOT work better. And I do believe what they’re finding is part of the historic culture that proves that change is in order. And I look for greatness to come through their efforts and the Legislature and the joint House-Senate study committee. Rep. Smith and I will be working to see how we can assist their needs through the legislative process.”

Smith, you will remember, was also a candidate for the commissioner’s job when the board chose Abraham. But on Tuesday, Smith was escorting Abraham to meet with Richardson and a number of other key House leaders.

Abraham was the candidate advanced by the governor after she helped turn around two other state agencies.

Evans said the extraordinary series of meetings and cancellation of board meetings was the result of his effort to get the word out to top state leaders and ultimately to the public.

“We need help to fix these problems. While she’s capable of a lot of things, every rock we turn over there’s a problem under it. The best way we thought to go about it was to be as transparent as we can be. We need help. We’re calling on the governor and the House and Senate leadership to help us,” Evans said.

Abraham said she believed the governor could expedite some cross-agency help for the department.

“I need some help from the state accounting office on our IT solutions for financials. I need Russell’s help to get us through the audit piece. I need the attorney general’s help in getting our hands around the lawsuits and what we do next. Then I need procurement help from DOAS to see how they can help us come in and figure that piece out. I need HR help to see if they’ll come over here and help me organize an HR group that has all the components to it that’s supposed to have,” she said.