“You get what you pay for.”

Oh how we wish that were always true. Unfortunately, when it comes to Pennsylvania’s legislature taxpayers are ponying up big bucks ($85,339 per year; the second-highest legislative salaries in the nation) and getting shoddy work in return.

The latest exhibit: a report from Auditor General Eugene DePasquale that makes a strong case for why Act 13, Pennsylvania’s 2012 statute governing impact fees from shale gas drilling, needs touching up.

“Act 13’s lack of clarity regarding proper use, reporting and monitoring of Impact Fee funds leads to questionable spending and inaccurate reporting,” the audit states, in part

Just how much questionable spending? Quite a bit. DePasquale’s audit only looked at 30 percent (10) of the 37 counties and 1.3 percent (20) of the 1,487 municipalities which received impact fee distributions between 2012 and 2016. But it still found plenty to discuss: $20.2 million in questionable spending — the vast majority of it by counties.

Some of the most egregious examples include Susquehanna County using nearly $5.2 million to subsidize its District Attorney’s office and pay for other expenses; Lycoming County using nearly $600,000 to purchase land and build a new district judge’s office; and Bradford County using $2.4 million to subsidize a correctional facility.

Giving local governments leeway when it comes to spending impact fees is a good thing, in theory. There’s no way state legislators could hope to predict and preempt the myriad of challenges and needs facing counties and municipalities. Given that, leaving wiggle room seems necessary.

But there’s a difference between wiggle room and crafting a law that allows a county (Greene) to spend $1.2 million in Act 13 money rebuilding community swimming pools.

There’s a difference between reasonable leeway and a lack of oversight that allows a township (North Strabane) to spend $32,602 on “community recreation events,” including a $1,200 payment to an American Idol contestant and $7,500 on fireworks.

“I just don’t believe impact fees should be funding fireworks celebrations,” DePasquale said at a news conference discussing the audit.

Can anyone reasonably disagree? These are not good faith mistakes. These are examples of local governments recognizing the law’s flaws — little to no oversight, no penalties for failing ouright to report use of funds, and flawed guidelines for tracking unused carryover from year to year — and acting accordingly.

It’s up to lawmakers in Harrisburg to move quickly, fix their mistakes, and quell the free-for-all mentality on display regarding the use of shale impact fees.