"State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned Friday and her second in command has been fired after officials learned the department has been sitting on nearly $54 million in surplus money for as long as 12 years.
The department kept the money hidden even as it carried out the unprecedented closure of 70 parks to satisfy state budget cuts. The money could also have prevented drastic cutbacks in hours, staffing and services that have stricken nearly every park in the state."
The Sacramento Bee reports that the moves come in the wake of a scandal, revealed by The Sacramento Bee on Sunday, in which a deputy director at State Parks carried out a secret vacation buyout program for employees at department headquarters last year. That buyout cost the state more than $271,000.
The Bee began inquiring about rumors of a surplus when it learned about the buyout, and submitted a Public Records Act request for the fund data on Wednesday.
The secret $54 million was not reported to the State Finance Departmentas required."
