Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

The Department of Public Safety generally complied with and had controls to ensure compliance with provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grants applicable to the federal programs we audited for fiscal year 2007. However, the department had the following weaknesses:

• The Department of Public Safety erroneously included expenditures in the Homeland Security Grant Program.
• The department did not adequately safeguard fixed assets purchased with federal funds.
• The department did not always have sufficient evidence to support some purchases.
• The department did not properly obligate funds to its subgrantees for the Homeland Security Grant Program.

Programs material to the State of Minnesota’s federal program compliance for fiscal year 2007:

• Homeland Security Cluster¹
  (CFDA 97.004 and 97.067).
• Highway Safety Cluster
  (CFDA 20.600 through 20.613)

¹A cluster of programs is a group of closely related programs that have similar compliance requirements and are treated as a single program.

The Department of Public Safety receives federal assistance to administer various programs for the State of Minnesota. The homeland security programs are intended to improve the ability of the nation to prevent, deter, respond to, and recover from threats and incidents of terrorism and to enhance regional preparedness. Expenditures totaled approximately $20.6 million for fiscal year 2007.

The objective of the highway safety programs is to provide a coordinated national highway safety program to reduce traffic accidents, deaths, injuries, and property damage. Expenditures for these programs totaled approximately $10.6 million in fiscal year 2007.