Lottery's staff party was a costly blunder

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Feb 19, 2008

CALIFORNIA Lottery Director Joan Borucki was concerned with staff morale, so she came up with a bright idea. Why not throw a party for 300 employees at the expense of California taxpayers?

Here's the kicker. A short time after Borucki apologized for this obvious abuse of state funds to a California Senate committee, that same committee rewarded her with a 3-0 vote to confirm her as head of our state lottery. It's certainly business as usual in Sacramento.

Back on Nov. 8, Borucki threw an employee recognition dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento for 300 employees and guests. They dined on prime rib and played mock lottery games for which prizes included a Nintendo Wii, iPods, digital cameras and gift cards. The total cost of the bash came to $43,629 -- all paid for by California taxpayers.

Borucki told committee members on Feb. 6 that she used state funds because she thought the event was sanctioned because the lottery has held an annual meal for employees for 20 years. Talk about a flimsy excuse. Imagine holding a party that costs nearly $50,000 -- that's a whole lot more than just a meal.

The Controller's Office, which jumped into the fray and is conducting an audit to be completed by mid-March, reminded Borucki that the lottery cannot use state funds for staff entertainment.

She could not possibly have honestly believed that a staff party falls under the category of business as usual.

On Feb. 12, Borucki said she will cut the staff travel budget to pay back the funds used for the party, an idea perhaps better than making people give back those Wiis and iPods. But if actions speak louder than words, we have some real concerns about who's running the lottery.

Of course, the Senate committee that confirmed Borucki would have a different opinion. State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata chairs the committee and said the party was not a "hanging offense." Maybe the committee should've had second thoughts.

Borucki now faces a full Senate confirmation and she has many hurdles, like turning around an organization that has seen 19 directors in 22 years, obvious staff morale problems, and poor internal fiscal controls.

On top of this, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed Borucki a year ago, has proposed to lease lottery operations to a private entity.

Since the Controller's Office won't finish its audit in time, we would like to hear a complete plan from Borucki herself to address these issues before the Senate makes its determination.

She has been on the job long enough to know what to do by now. Then the Senate can more aptly judge whether Borucki is the one who can truly turn things around at the state lottery office.