With the state government facing a crippling $1 billion budget shortfall, taxpayers have every right to expect public officials to stretch tax dollars as far as possible.

Government agencies need to demonstrate their ability and willingness to manage public money with maximum efficiency, to get the biggest bang for that increasingly elusive buck.

However, a story in Sunday's Advertiser by reporter Sean Hao suggests the state still has some work to do. The state's airports division has at least 54 contracts still on the books that are well beyond their expiration date — some contracts have been lapsed for at least 10 years — leaving about $6 million sitting encumbered and unused.

The amount of money is relatively small; the state's airport modernization program is budgeted for $2.3 billion. But at a time when every nickel counts, it's discouraging to see millions of dollars sitting idle, as was revealed after the Senate Ways and Means Committee raised questions over airport contracts.

State transportation Director Brennon Morioka says his agency is taking steps to clear those old contracts off the books, eventually freeing up the $6 million for other uses.

It's a necessary step, but no guarantee of real reform. More must be done to ensure the state properly and efficiently accounts for public spending.

Technology can help.

Morioka said that DOT is adopting new accounting software that it hopes will allow swift tracking and reporting of all its revenues and expenditures across its three divisions: airports, harbors and highways.

That's a good start.

State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, chairwoman of the Ways and Means committee, complained that it's difficult to track spending because state agencies all use different, often outmoded, accounting systems. Kim rightly suggests ultimately upgrading and unifying accounting systems across all agencies to help policymakers follow the money and make better budget decisions.

In the meantime, it's the responsibility of state officials to keep a closer eye on their procurement and spending practices.

That includes the Legislature, which should strengthen its oversight to questionable spending through aggressive use of audits when necessary.

These days, there's no room to be casual with the public's money. There simply isn't enough of it.