Audit: Kentucky was warned about broadband contract

In October 2015, state officials in Kentucky signed a contract to install 3,000 miles of fiber optic cable to bring high-speed internet access to all 120 counties. Today, the project is at least four years behind schedule because of persistent delays that have cost taxpayers a projected $96 million.

But a new report from Republican Auditor Mike Harmon says state officials ignored at least three written warnings about the contract. Auditors said no one interviewed could explain “why the decision to proceed was made.” Harmon said he has sent the report to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission “for further review and possible action.”

“It was as if sirens were going off all around and no one was paying attention,” Harmon said.

The audit is the latest takedown of Kentucky Wired, an ambitious project hailed as an economic savior for an eastern Kentucky economy that had been devastated by the loss of coal jobs. Former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced the deal. Beshear left office in December 2015. Matt Bevin, his Republican successor, has committed to finishing the project.

Read more: https://www.state-journal.com/2018/09/27/audit-kentucky-was-warned-about-broadband-contract/