Eckstrom issues state travel report for fiscal 2015

COLUMBIA, SC – SC Controller Richard Eckstrom has issued the latest state Travel Report detailing amounts spent on travel by every state agency in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015. For Eckstrom, reporting this information to the public is an important part of his efforts to promote and expand government financial transparency in South Carolina.

The Travel Report lists all travel-related expenditures, including conference registration fees, by all agencies that received money in the state’s 2015 budget. The report distinguishes between in-state and out-of-state travel for each agency.

In an easy-to-understand format, the report discloses the total spent on travel by each agency, ranking them from highest to lowest. It also shows the top 25 travelers in each agency ranked by how much each traveler spent.

Eckstrom says the Travel Report serves a valuable purpose by informing the public and state leaders about a category of government spending that needs to be watched closely to ensure that travel is necessary, reasonable, and meets a valid public purpose.

“Even with all of the new ways we communicate today, phone calls, emails and the Internet aren’t always the most effective ways for government officials and employees to exchange information and discuss important matters,” Eckstrom says. “In these cases, travel might be necessary. But agencies serve the best interests of taxpayers by limiting travel to only the essentials. Every agency needs to consider the actual benefit it receives when it spends public funds to travel.”

The report can be downloaded from the Comptroller General’s Office website at: http://www.cg.sc.gov/publicationsandreports/Pages/travelreports.aspx. Travel reports dating back to fiscal 2004 are available at that link.

For more information please contact Eric Ward, public information director, at 803-734-2538; 803-206-6293 or [email protected].