RALEIGH, NC – The State of North Carolina’s Program Evaluation Division (PED) released a report on State agencies’ fleet vehicles. The report found a discrepancy between vehicle registration records and the number of vehicles those agencies reported. The report said there were a total of 2,346 discrepancies between registrations and vehicles reported. 

The report recommends the State create a centralized database to record the number and cost of state-owned motor vehicles. The North Carolina PED said the 28,669 state-owned vehicles, and $182.7 million in vehicle-related expenditures, cited in its report understate the actual number and cost.

The PED said North Carolina's General Assembly should direct state agencies and institutions to update vehicle registration records for all state-owned vehicles. In addition, the Assembly should direct the State Auditor to conduct a review of the reconciliation process.

Regarding overall fleet management, the PED said the State Controller should recommend a state-wide fleet management system and require state entities to collect and report vehicle-related information via that system.

The PED report said that only 5 out of 14 agencies and institutions with 200 or more vehicles collect the data needed to determine the appropriate fleet size. PED also said the lack of a state law that requires agencies and institutions to collect standardized use and cost data on state-owned vehicles, or to justify the acquisition of vehicles (new or replacement) is the cause of the inconsistencies.

The State of North Carolina has been focusing on improving its agencies' fleet operations for the last few years, for example changing policies to increase utilization.