Missouri Auditor Susan Montee issued a report Wednesday that was highly critical of oversight of a major state economic development program.

Projects funded through the state's Enterprise Zone and Enhanced Enterprise Zone tax credit programs need more careful watching to accurately report the number of jobs they create, Montee's report says. State officials don't require enough documentation of actual jobs and investments made, and too often report inflated figures to lawmakers.

State inspectors had visited only 15 of the 209 businesses that had received the tax credits since 2000, the audit found, and a review of 19 projects approved in 2007 found that new jobs lagged the projected figure by 6 percent, and investment by 29 percent.

Since 1996, $245 million in tax credits have been redeemed under the two programs, which are designed to boost new business in poor neighborhoods; $628 million had been authorized.

In its response, the Department of Economic Development said that Enterprise Zone tax credits were no longer issued for new projects after 2004, so they did not do site visits, and that staffing shortages hampered site visits under the Enhanced Enterprise program.

Tax credit programs are under sharp scrutiny in Jefferson City these days. A committee to study the state's 61 programs held its first meeting Wednesday, with Gov. Jay Nixon saying he wanted to reform the system to ensure the best return on the state's investment.