Financial Control Deficiencies Plague Rheinland-Pfalz
The State Audit Office of Rheinland-Pfalz has unveiled a litany of shortcomings in the state’s financial administration, highlighting lack of financial control, inadequate savings measures, unclear responsibilities, and flawed personnel planning.
Wind Energy Compensation Payments
The construction of wind energy turbines significantly impacts the natural environment and landscape. As mitigation, developers are obligated to make compensatory payments. However, the audit found that in eleven examined cases, the authorities failed to consider the turbines’ total height, resulting in compensation payments that were €136,000 too low.
In over half of the cases where turbines were erected in protected areas, the compensation payments were unlawfully set too low. Moreover, the Environment Ministry has not adjusted the assessment rates used to calculate compensation payments since 2018. If the rates had been annually adjusted for inflation, €1.7 million more in compensation could have been collected by 2023.
Police University Workforce Issues
The Police University at Hahn Airport is responsible for training and continuing education for the state police force. Neither the university nor the supervising Ministry of the Interior could verify whether the lecturers had fulfilled their annual working hours.
Inconsistencies in recording working hours for various tasks and incomplete and inaccurate documentation of teaching events were the root causes. Calculations revealed that in 2022, an excessive number of shooting and operational trainers were hired, resulting in unnecessary expenses of €812,400 per year.
Between 2018 and 2022, an average of 15 to 25 percent of police officers failed their firearms proficiency tests. Intensive follow-up training is required after repeated failures, but such training was not provided.
Archaeological Research Costs
The Directorate of State Archaeology is responsible for archaeological investigations related to construction projects and excavations. Expenses can be recovered from project sponsors if the project value exceeds €500,000.
However, the state archaeology department failed to systematically determine project costs in any of the examined cases, raising concerns that the threshold was not always met. The department also neglected to account for its own staffing costs, leaving uncertainties about the accuracy of cost assessments.
Excessive Staffing in Tax Offices
The 22 regional tax offices in Rheinland-Pfalz were found to have significantly overstaffed their administrative functions, with a total of 250 full-time employees deemed unnecessary.
The postal operations were identified as the area with the highest savings potential. Using the average staffing levels of the five most efficient tax offices as a benchmark, 21.8 full-time positions could be eliminated. Additional savings were seen in the telephone switchboard, building maintenance, and human resources functions.
Non-Compliance in Public Sector Hiring
The Ministries for Family and Integration, as well as Labor and Social Affairs, failed to adhere to legal requirements in hiring, promotions, and reclassifications. Job descriptions often lacked clear requirements, and the Social Ministry conducted several interviews with candidates who did not meet the mandatory criteria. Both ministries also neglected to produce selection reports, which are essential for ensuring equal opportunities and legal protections for applicants.
Fiscal Prudence Urged
The report also called for a shift in fiscal policy, advocating for the use of the budget stabilization reserve to repay debt instead of further increasing it. The additional burden of higher debt and rising interest expenses would strain the state’s finances during a challenging economic period.
To fund essential investments, such as maintaining public infrastructure and digitalization, the audit recommended reducing non-essential expenditures and eliminating unnecessary positions. Financial assistance programs should be scaled back to prioritize necessary investments.
