The remedy, according to the 14-page report, is for the Governor's Office - which oversees the council budget - to provide more detailed information to address the concerns.

Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie said Wednesday that virtually all of the problems have since been addressed.

The purpose of the Constitutional Defense Council is to evaluate federal laws and regulations that might place an undue burden on the state and its localities, then recommend whether and where to challenge them.

Much of the council's budget has been devoted to addressing RS2477 rights-of-way issues, which have to do with roads built on federal land by local entities.

Those funds were mostly managed well during fiscal 2002 and 2003, audit supervisor Janice Coleman told members of the Audit Subcommittee. The exception: $62,000 that was not tied directly to the RS2477 accounts. About $50,000 was instead funneled to former Gov. Mike Leavitt's unsuccessful effort to establish a San Rafael National Monument.

"It was a gray area," Coleman said. "All of it was related to public land use issues."

The Auditor General's sharpest rebuke came regarding how the council's administrators kept the four county commissioners abreast of the fund's finances. Or, more specifically, how they didn't. According to the report, the council plan "does not lay out the level of expenditure detail" that should be provided to the counties.

"In that light, the counties wonder if they are truly full partners, and we tend to agree," said Coleman.

The audit supervisor also said the council was lax about keeping its mandated meeting schedule, it illegally closed several meetings and did not furnish minutes for others.

But Rep. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley City, says all of those problems have been addressed since McKeachnie assumed oversight of the council.

"Since he came aboard, all of the expenditures have been thoroughly scrutinized," he said. "Anything mentioned about [county] input, they are certainly able to do now."

jbaird@sltrib.com