JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) - It's been about 30 years since a state auditor conducted an audit on state agencies.

In October, State Auditor Shad White (R-Miss.) released a report called "Project Momentum." The report focused on slashing waste in state government agencies.

White said the reason he conducted the audit was because he didn't want to reach the end of his time as state auditor and regret that he didn't look at how government agencies can trim waste.

“I was frustrated that that we were seeing other state governments around the country get lean, get smart, become more efficient, and Mississippi had no road map for doing that," said White.

He said the report identified opportunities that could save taxpayers more than $335 million in fiscal savings.

“This is not a debatable expenditure, which may or may not be good. This is just pure waste that's not benefiting any taxpayer at all. Period," White stated.

The report focused on 13 state agencies, including the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the Division of Medicaid and the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).

“If we save $335 million in, let's say, cut taxes with it, that would almost fully eliminate all of the taxes that you pay on groceries," White said.

Eliminating the grocery tax isn't the only suggestion White had as to how the money could be used wisely.

“If we took that $335 million and turned it into a teacher pay raise, I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what that would be, but it would be one of the largest teacher pay raises in the state's history, if not the largest. We're talking about thousands of additional cops on the street," he said.

The State Auditor's Office cannot make the changes. They can only recommend them.

“The fixing of the problems that has to happen either by the Legislature or in the individual agencies that we're auditing. I hope that policymakers immediately, right now will take a look at that audit, and they'll say, 'We've got to start cutting the fat,'” White said.

He wants his audit to serve as a guide for state government. White said if a recession hits in the next 10-20 years, this will help make decisions about where cuts can be made.