PORTLAND (AP) — A state audit has found $61,000 in spending by the Oregon Commission for the Blind went for items such as a leather jacket, men’s cologne, football jerseys, a bike trip to San Juan Islands and other expenditures.

Funding for the commission is meant to help Oregonians who are blind and visually impaired live and work independently.

The report released Friday by the Oregon Secretary of State said the football jerseys decorated a client’s coffee cart and the San Juan Islands trip was primarily for non-clients. A trip to Chicago was taken for nutrition education.

Auditors also questioned whether an additional $1.4 million was spent prudently.

“The Commission has done some outstanding work over the years,” Secretary of State Kate Brown said in a statement. “Its best work is when it serves the specific needs of the individual clients.”

But some spending has not met those needs, she said, and her auditors have listed a slew of recommendations for the commission, including making sure funds are clearly tied to business needs.

The audit began in March 2007 after the state received reports saying the commission had mismanaged operations and misused funds meant to help clients.

Linda Mock, administrator for the Commission for the Blind, said staff has already begun to improve documentation of its spending.

“We found the audit helpful in helping us strengthen documentation around client services,” Mock said.

But she also defended the commission’s expenditures.

“We have seen a direct correlation over the years with an individual being willing to believe in their own capabilities on the job or living independently with being able to successfully participate in recreational activities such as tandem bike trips,” she said.

The commission organized a September 2006 trip to the San Juan Islands with funds from a deceased staff member who donated money for specifically for the outing, she said, and half of the participants on the San Juan Island trip were legally blind.

“I think we do provide excellent services to blind Oregonians,” she said.

The audit said the commission spent $12,000 for the seven-day trip to the San Juan Islands, and expenses included salary for four employees, bicycle rentals, camping fees, food and supplies and transportation. Two clients were on the trip, the audit said, and their case files did not discuss how the trip helped them meet their goals.

Also noted in the audit was $1,300 for home Internet services for six employees who had no documented reason for working from home, and $1.3 million paid over a span of seven years to 14 vendors without obtaining competitive pricing.