Although I'm sorry to read this, I enjoy seeing that they were audited. It doesn't look, from reading this, as if anything nefarious was going on, but rather due to inconsistent and inaccurate reporting. Kip Averitt's comment:

"I saw a whole lot of need for improvement in the financial management area. They are asking for a whole lot of money," Senate Natural Resources Chairman Kip Averitt, R-Waco, said after auditors from the state auditor's office and parks department officials responded to the Senate Finance Committee. "Until they give us some assurance that the money is going to be spent prudently, I think there's some reason to be concerned."

The report faults the agency for not acting thoroughly enough in strengthening financial controls over park revenue collection and reporting, "which has resulted in lost revenue," according to the audit. The auditor cited similar financial control weaknesses in a 1998 report.

Texas parks could get an extra $84 million a year if state lawmakers agree to use all revenue from the sales tax on sporting goods for parks, which the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recommends as a way to rehabilitate deteriorating parks and to develop new ones.