NCDOT Releases Consultant's First Recommendations

Raleigh, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation, under orders from Gov. Mike Easley, on Thursday released documents related to a management review of the agency.

Since April, McKinsey & Co., a management consultant, has been conducting a $3.6 million, taxpayer-funded review of the agency that critics accuse of being inefficient and lacking accountability. McKinsey filed an evaluation in June, but DOT officials decided not to ask for any other material or release what they had received.

That decision drew criticism from Easley and state lawmakers. They also criticized McKinsey attorneys for blacking out several pages of its DOT contract before releasing that.

Easley spokeswoman Sherri Johnson said that the governor called state Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett on Wednesday and told him to release whatever documents he had.

"The governor has told the secretary (that) if there's a contract and it's been done with public money, he needs to release it," Johnson said. "And he has said anything that's been paid for with public money, the public has a right to see and to know what's going on."

Tippet said McKinsey will provide a full report to the public when the firm completes its work in November.

Tippett summarized the review as calling for the implementation of general common-sense themes: more accountability, better inter-agency collaboration and clearer priorities.

“We will focus more on outcomes rather than outputs, with greater visibility and accountability to the public,” he said.