Topeka ? Republicans on Wednesday used a new state audit to attack Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ claim of vehicle savings, but Democrats said the governor’s staff was being unfairly criticized for cleaning up a mess left by GOP officials.

The partisan jabs were prompted by a quick audit of Sebelius’ claim that she saved $9.3 million by abolishing the state Central Motor Pool, imposing a two-year moratorium on vehicle purchases, and selling more than 700 underused vehicles.

But the Legislative Division of Post-Audit reported that the savings “aren’t known” because several factors may affect the bottom line, such as whether it will cost more for state employees to rent cars, or be reimbursed for use of their personal cars, instead of using a state-owned vehicle.

The audit also questioned figures used by the administration in its attempt to get rid of the van-pool program, a state-run commuter system.

And the audit said that Sebelius’ Department of Administration failed to do a cost-benefit analysis on the long-term budget effects of getting rid of the motor pool, which was used as a central dispatch of cars for state agencies.

Senate President Dave Kerr, a Republican from Hutchinson, said the audit showed the Sebelius administration “did not look before it leaped. A thorough review of current and future costs to state agencies was not a part of the decision process.”

“This is no way to run state government,” said Sen. Derek Schmidt, a Republican from Independence.

But Sebelius officials were unapologetic.

They said the stated savings were real and that Sebelius had inherited a bloated fleet of 8,784 vehicles.

Administration Secretary Howard Fricke said the decisions were a “no-brainer.” And Sebelius’ budget director Duane Goossen said the savings had been built into Sebelius’ proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

“Let’s not trivialize $9 million,” he said.

Goossen said dissolving the motor pool would save $5.1 million, the moratorium on car purchases would save an additional $3.2 million, and the sale of cars currently under way would save $1 million more.

Fricke freely admitted that the agency made no cost-benefit analysis in getting rid of the motor pool, but instead made a policy decision to move hundreds of cars to state agencies, which already had assigned vehicles, and simply sell off the rest. He said the move removed duplication.

As far as the van pool, Fricke said the state shouldn’t be in the business of running vans to commute state employees to work. And, he said, of the approximately 270 riders, 30 were not even state employees.

But the audit said van-pool riders had historically been told that they were sustaining the cost of the program through their monthly fees, but then the Department of Administration recalculated the figures with possibly inflated figures and said the program was losing money.

The audit also questioned the process that resulted in Enterprise Rent-a-Car getting the contract to provide rental vehicles to state employees. Enterprise had initially won a contract to provide vehicles to meet excessive demand. State officials changed the terms of that contract so that Enterprise would provide all rentals. The audit noted that this was a significant change, but the department didn’t seek new bids from other companies.

Democratic legislators, however, rose to Sebelius’ defense, noting that the fleet of state-owned vehicles had ballooned under Republican administrations and while Kerr was chairman of the Senate budget-writing committee.