LAWRENCE, KS - A recently released audit report revealed all travel and vehicle-related expenses for the State of Kansas fleet have risen as a result of having no central motor pool, according to the Lawrence Journal World & 6News.

In 2003, then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius eliminated the state government's Central Motor Pool, implemented a two-year moratorium on all new vehicle purchases, and sold more than 700 vehicles determined to be under-used.

State employees traveling on business have had to rent a vehicle through Enterprise Rent-A-Car, use personal vehicles and get reimbursed, or drive an agency-owned vehicle.

Audit findings reported by the Journal include:

• Total vehicle-related costs for 2008 - including new vehicle purchases - increased 11 percent since 2006. That includes a 25 percent increase in vehicle purchases between 2006 and 2008, which was likely due to the moratorium on vehicle purchase in 2004 and 2005, the audit said.

• Four agencies had nine employees who rented vehicles for more than 300 total days, including one midsize sport-utility vehicle. The minimum level of cost of these rentals was $7,525 and the maximum annual cost was $13,850, that audit said.

• Since 2003, the number of miles driven by state employees has increased 2 percent. Private miles have increased 11 percent, and rental miles 101 percent, while the number of agency-owned vehicle miles has decreased by 4 percent.

• Not enough information readily available to determine how efficiently agencies were handling vehicle fleets.