(The Center Square) – A report found the Oklahoma office tasked with providing central services paid vendors late 62% of the time but has tripled its appropriation in the past three years.
The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency drew its conclusion about the late payments from a random sampling of 85 invoices paid by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which provides central services to state agencies that include payroll, and accounting.
Fifty-three invoices were paid past the statutorily required 45-day mark between 2020 and 2023, according to the report.
The numbers improved from a 2019 state audit that showed the OMES was late on 78% of invoices.
“One agency stated, ‘We are constantly apologizing to and have lost business with vendors due to these issues,'” the LOFT report said. “Our agency and the State of Oklahoma’s reputation is being tarnished due to their inefficiencies.”
A separate finding shows that agency appropriations jumped from $61.5 million in 2019 to $164 million in 2024. The agency also has flawed and untimely business practices and billing practices that lack transparency, the report said.
“In examining OMES’ budgeting practices, LOFT found the agency regularly overestimates its expenses, does not reflect historical revenue trends in its budget, is not timely in providing financial documents for use by state agencies, and is frequently late with paying vendors,” the report said.
Senate Majority Leader Greg McCortney, R-Ada, said during a meeting of the Oversight Committee for LOFT it was a failure of the “most basic things the agency is supposed to be doing.”
“To me, an inability to pay your bills on time and for that to be pointed out in 2019 and we are sitting here in 2023 and you’ve made a little bit of progress but still, 62% of the bills that are sent to the state of Oklahoma do not get paid on time,” McCortney said. “I know I could not run my business that way.”
Much of OMES’ ability to pay its vendors is based on the agency’s payments to OMES for the services they received, said Jerry Moore, deputy director and chief transformation officer.
“Just our normal legislative budget process causes services that are being consumed in July and August, the agencies don’t start to pay OMES for those services until September and October and yes, naturally, there’s some delay in that as we have cash flow restrictions,” Moore said. “We have a choice of making payroll or paying a vendor.”
Committee Chair Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, questioned how the agency could have a cash flow issue when the agency is over-budgeted by $79 million and has cash flow reserves.
Moore said there were several restrictions on how some of their money could be used.
“I’m more confused than ever,” McCortney said. “It seems like you’ve got the auditor and LOFT saying we are not paying our bills on time, but we cannot get agreement on that. As somebody that is elected to represent the taxpayers, I’ve got some serious issues now and I have no idea if I go back to the Rotary Club in Ada next week, how in the world can I defend, really the continuation of what we are doing at this point.”
John Suter, OMES’ chief executive officer, said the statement was a bit harsh.
“I would sit down with and you, and I’ve offered numerous senators to sit down and come talk to me about specific things that you have issues with,” Suter said. “I have yet one person call me or ask me about specific things that we are being asked about.”
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