A state senator wants to know what security risks justified the installation of two security doors valued at $15,000 in the attorney general's office.
Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, sent a letter Thursday asking the legislative auditor to look into why Attorney General Lori Swanson should be concerned about security in her office and what recommendations a 2007 security assessment had made.
Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said the questions are likely to be part of a larger audit of the attorney general's office scheduled to begin in May.
Hann's letter followed reports that Swanson, a DFLer, sought a security assessment after taking office in 2007 and that the two solid oak doors were installed shortly afterward.
Swanson has said the doors replaced two with windows leading into her office. Each of the doors, described as sound-attenuating in billing records, was valued at about $5,000, with installation requiring an additional $2,500 apiece.
Hann's letter also asked Nobles' office to investigate the timing of the installation, which was ordered within weeks of reports of office turmoil over some attorneys attempting to organize a union. Installation of the doors and a $6,000 replacement of carpeting in Swanson's office were first reported by WCCO-TV, generating questions about whether they were a wise use of taxpayer dollars.
"I'm concerned about what happened with the security assessment that she says that she conducted. What was done with that assessment? Who paid for it? What was the scope of it?" asked Hann, a member of the Legislative Audit Commission.
"It seems a little strange to me that it occurred without anyone else knowing there were security issues at the Capitol. If a constitutional officer says we have a security risk that requires some extraordinary things to be done, I think that should be known," he said.
