Audit: W.Va. router buy not cost-effective use of stimulus funds

Some of the $22K devices cannot be accounted for

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state of West Virginia wasted federal stimulus funds and didn't properly track Internet routers that cost $24 million, according to a federal audit released Friday.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Inspector General found that the state could have purchased smaller, less expensive routers for schools, libraries, health clinics, county courthouses and planning agencies.

The Inspector General started reviewing West Virginia's router purchase last summer at the request of two congressional subcommittees.

"While I am pleased that our concerns about this funding were accurate, the fact that money was wasted and routers are unaccounted for is disturbing," said Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who serves as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy. "This is an unfortunate example of how government does not keep track of how it spends taxpayer money."

http://wvgazette.com/News/201301250187