Copyright Hartford Courant
State agencies lost $8.8 million in assets in fiscal year 2025, the Office of the Comptroller said this week, but that number represents an improvement. In his annual loss report, Comptroller Sean Scanlon wrote that state agencies reported asset losses totaling $8.8 million in original cost in fiscal year 2025, referring to the price of the assets at the time they were purchased, reflecting a $5 million reduction from fiscal year 2024. When adjusted to reflect the actual value of the assets at the time of loss, the actual loss to the state was $1.6 million, the comptroller’s office said, reflecting how many items on the report “depreciated over time and after 5-10 years, most have no additional residual value.” “My belief when I decided to start publishing these numbers was through transparency and accountability, the state agencies would be more conscious of loss and would do more proactively to stop loss from occurring in the first place,” Comptroller Sean Scanlon told the Courant. Scanlon said the $5 million reduction in asset losses from state agencies is a “validation of that belief. “It shows that people are taking this more seriously and being more conscious,” he said. “Every single dollar that we lose is a dollar that a taxpayer gave to us and I just want the state to be more vigilant when it comes to what we lose.” The comptroller began publishing an annual report on state agencies’ reported asset losses in 2023. By far, the vast majority of losses were accidental and due to impairment, referring to the “diminishing in quality, strength, amount or value of an agency asset,” according to the annual state comptroller report on asset losses. Also cited in the majority of losses was paperwork, where items were disposed of properly, but paperwork was lost or not filed correctly. Scanlon said state agencies are required to notify his office any time they lose anything and also if they recover it. “The list is everything they possibly have ever imagined losing, ranging from things like computers, to car damage to last year where when UConn won the national championship there was a riot,” Scanlon said, citing examples. “Some of the loss report details what the damage was to UConn.” “It covers the gambit of a lot of different things,” he continued. “Our work with them is to mitigate all kinds of loss from big items to small items.” The report cites Department of Administrative Services asset losses of $2.5 million regarding fleet accident repair costs. The comptroller asked agencies to “provide costs of automobile repairs that are not due to the normal wear and tear or maintenance schedules,” the report stated. Department of Administrative Services spokesman John McKay said in an email that the actual loss regarding DAS fleet was significantly overreported. He said the agency is continuing to analyze the report and that it has concerns with the conclusions of the report. “Notably, the figure reported by OSC does not include insurance recoveries or vehicle depreciation values, which would further reduce the net loss and provide a more accurate picture of the actual financial impact,” he said. The comptroller’s report states that the “cost does not show the offset of recovered funds from third party insurance carriers. “Because the state is largely self-insured for automotive incidents, repairs are automatically completed out of budgeted funds,” the report stated. “Then, for applicable incidents, the state seeks damages from insurance companies where third parties are found to be at fault.” The report includes losses for the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection at $3.8 million, which adjusted to actual value represent $46,044. Will Healey, spokesman for DEEP, said during a recent asset review and inventory the agency identified a number of assets, many of which were several decades old and well beyond their useful life. “In numerous cases, these items had been disposed of prior to the implementation of our revised procedures, but the disposals were not properly recorded,” Healey said. “These discrepancies do not reflect recent or ongoing losses, but rather are the result of updating and reconciling legacy asset data. In the interest of transparency and compliance, these items have been appropriately reported to the Office of the State Comptroller.” Some examples of losses include lighting fixtures, landscaping tools and boat trailers, according to the comptroller’s office. Healey said the agency recently implemented a comprehensive physical inventory process and updated procedures for surplusing equipment that has exceeded its useful life. The University of Connecticut reported $113,823 in losses, which when adjusted to actual value represent $73,745. A major portion of asset losses is attributable to “a 2024 case in which a UConn compliance investigation determined that a faculty member used university funds for personal travel and related personal expenses in violation of UConn’s travel policy, the Employee Code of Conduct and the university’s Guide to the State Code of Ethics,” said Stephanie Reitz, spokesperson for UConn in an email. This refers to the case of Sherry Lynn Zane, a professor at UConn who is facing a larceny charge after being accused of misusing about $50,000 in university funds for what authorities allege were personal vacations to places like Disney World and Ireland – where she got married and reportedly went to visit her daughter. “The criminal case remains pending in Rockville Superior Court, so it is not yet known whether the university will be able to recoup the funds through that process,” Reitz said. Another significant portion of asset losses to UConn include “data breach/fraud, notably costs of contracting with consulting and forensic firms to determine the scope and impact and to address the breach,” Reitz said. The Department of Correction reported $1.2 million in missing property in original cost which when adjusted to actual value equated to an estimated $164,758 loss in inventory and paperwork errors. “Property that was either missing or did not have sufficient documentation for its disposal makes up a large portion of the report asset loss amount,” said Andrius Banevicius, public information officer for the state’s Department of Correction. “However, these losses are generally composed of items that are old and may have been disposed of after they became unusable or broken and were not properly documented for disposal,” he said. “In most cases, their adjusted value of the missing asset is significantly less than its original cost.” The Department of Economic & Community Development reported $1.3 million in asset losses, which when adjusted to actual value now reflect 73 cents, the report shows. The state Department of Children and Families reported $93,457 in asset losses which when adjusted to actual value equate to $99,064, according to the report. DCF Interim Commissioner Susan I. Hamilton said in a statement that in July 2024 the Department discovered the theft of 1,689 iPhones and notified the Connecticut State Police and the Office of Legislative Research as well as the state auditors. “Under the terms of a contract state agencies have with the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), the phones are provided for free,” Hamilton said. “The loss equates to an account credit the Agency would have received if the phones were recycled. The phones were stolen from a locked room used by DAS’ Bureau of Information Technology Solutions (BITS) to support DCF staff. Three BITS staff and facility custodians had access to the room, as did DCF engineering staff, who have a master key. Hamilton said prior to the theft, the phones were wiped of all data and the Agency has the ability to be immediately notified if someone tries to activate the phone – which no one has to the agency’s knowledge. “The criminal investigation is ongoing,” Hamilton said. Reporting from Justin Muszynski is included in this article.
