Nebraska’s state auditor says the wasteful state spending his office reported earlier this week is but a drop in the budget bucket.

Auditor Mike Foley says Monday’s report on the misspending of nearly $8 million by the Department of Health and Human Services is the sort of waste and fiscal mismanagement that could be found through state and local government agencies.

Foley told members of the Beatrice Rotary Club in Beatrice on Thursday that he thinks the state could trim spending 5 percent across the board. That would amount to about $182 million for this fiscal year alone.

Foley says the alarms his office sounds about public spending haven’t made him and his staff many friends in government offices. He says his department is “making new enemies every day.”