JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- Fair performance was reported by State Auditor Tom Schweich Wednesday in an audit of the Missouri Governor's office.

According to our sister station KRCG, Gov. Nixon continues to ignore advice given to him by state auditors of both political parties regarding operating costs for personnel and wasteful travel expenses. Nixon spent more than $602,000 on travel expenses paid for by the taxpayers for himself and his staff.

From January 2009 to June 2011, approximately $1.7 million of the governor's office expenses were charged to and paid from appropriations of other state agencies. The governor's office would have spent more than its appropriation in each of the three fiscal years audited had other agencies not picked up the tab.

Fourteen agencies funded all or part of the salaries for several employees of the governor's office for a total of $770,000, and the Office of Administration (OA) paid $32,000 to compensate an "advisor on education" to the governor. OA employees do not separately account for and report the time spent performing tasks for the governor's office and mansion.

In the first 30 months of the current administration's tenure, employees of the governor's office flew 334 days on state planes, costing approximately $565,000, 96 percent of which was paid by various state agencies. State agencies also paid approximately $37,000 for other travel expenses for employees of the governor's office and various other operating expenses of the governor's office totaling approximately $406,000. This situation has been noted in previous reports from Auditor Schweich and his Democrat predecessor.

The governor's office does not evaluate whether commercial flights would be more economical than state planes for out-of-state trips. Flight costs for 19 out-of-state flights totaled approximately $92,800, which included $15,630 for wait time costs and $8,570 for pilot expense. The governor's office could have saved approximately $15,500 if individuals had flown commercial flights on two trips to Washington D.C.

Hotel charges exceeded recommended rates per state policy, meal charges exceeded per diem rates, and airline tickets were not purchased at least 21 days before the flight. One employee, domiciled in St. Louis, stayed at a hotel in Jefferson City approximately 150 nights at a cost of almost $12,000 when more economic alternatives existed.

To view the complete report, Citizens Summary and audit rating scale, visit: http://auditor.mo.gov/view.aspx?id=201295.

After reading the audit on State Auditor Tom Schweich's website, do you agree with the fair rating? Post your comments below or on our Facebook page here.