SACRAMENTO, Calif. (MCT) — The man at the center of a financial scandal at the state Department of Parks and Recreation told The Sacramento Bee this week that he repeatedly advised his superiors that the department was sitting on millions of dollars in surplus money.

John Laird, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, which oversees the state parks department, revealed last week that the department had been sitting on $54 million in “hidden assets” for at least 12 years. Some of that money could have been used to avoid the park closures and steep service reductions that have played out over the past two years amid deep state budget cuts.