Use of State Materials & Equipment

When state materials, equipment and resources are put to personal use, they must be replaced sooner, causing a drain on agency funds. State law, K.R.S. 11A.005 and 11A.040, prohibits a public servant from using public office to obtain a private benefit and from furthering his own economic interests through state employment. Therefore, when state employees use copy machines, telephones, stationery, computers, e-mail, bandwidth and other state resources as if they were their own personal property, they deprive the public of the use for which such resources were intended and violate the law. Since employees, too, are taxpayers, they also should be concerned about high government cost that could be avoided by careful use of state materials and equipment purchases with tax dollars. Although failure to realize individual responsibility for economical use of state property may seem a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent employee, the direct dollar loss for property and material abuse is large. The conscientious employee will carefully use state materials and equipment purchased with tax dollars and takes care to avoid the personal use of state resourced. Statutory Reference: KRS 11A.005, KRS 11A.020, 11A.040 .