The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) has issued a report noting the state ferry system’s progress in meeting legislative requirements for capital cost accounting passed in 2007.

Washington State Ferries (WSF), a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, made positive strides in implementing the 2007 legislation, including:

• capital budget request procedures
• system wide and administrative cost allocation
• ferry terminal life-cycle cost model updates

The report also pointed out areas where WSF needs to improve, such as indicating why WSF requested funding for assets not in poor condition and including clear and concise reports of asset conditions in budget proposals.

“I welcome the findings of the report,” said Assistant Secretary David Moseley. “It feels good to know we’ve made progress in several important areas, and we’ve already geared up to make the suggested improvements.”

JLARC Audit Coordinator David Dean will present the report titled “State Ferry Terminals: Procedures to Account for and Request Capital Funds Have Improved but Additional Actions Are Needed,” to the JLARC committee today.  The report is available at www.leg.wa.gov/JLARC/AuditAndStudyReports/2011/Pages/default.aspx.