Special investigators are looking at an array of different city transactions
By Marissa Harshman
Columbian staff writer
The city of Washougal received a clean audit of its financial statements, a welcomed change from the findings of a recent accountability audit that caused an uproar in the community.
The Washington State Auditor’s Office released Monday its financial statements audit report for Jan. 1, 2008 through Dec. 31, 2008. The audit looked at the financial statements prepared by the city. Those statements document how much money is owed to the city, bank statements and expenditures within city funds, said Mindy Chambers, spokeswoman for the state auditor’s office.
“We audit them to see if they’re accurate and complete, because those are the statements the cities use to make decisions,” she said.
The state auditor’s special investigation of the city is not yet complete. The investigation began in October following an accountability audit report that criticized former Mayor Stacee Sellers’ expenditures and unaccounted-for revenue from community events.
Auditors are still reviewing documentation and conducting interviews and hope to have the fieldwork wrapped-up sometime next month, Chambers said. The auditor’s report of the investigation would be released several weeks later, she said.
The special investigation is focusing on the findings from the October accountability audit, particularly areas where the city may be owed money, Chambers said. Those issues were not reviewed in the audit released Monday.
The financial statements audit focused on the city’s two enterprise funds — the water-sewer fund and solid waste fund — because they require the money to be spent in specific ways, Chambers said. Enterprise funds are used for self-supporting entities that provide goods or services to the public for a fee. The state auditor’s office also looked at the financial statements of all other city funds, Chambers said.
The auditor’s report said the city prepared its financial statements for its enterprise funds in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The city also prepared its statements for the remaining funds in compliance with Washington state statutes and a manual provided by the state auditor’s office, according to the report.
In addition, the auditor’s office found no violations of finance-related legal or contractual provisions and no expenditures exceeding legal appropriations in any city funds, according to the report.
No surprises reported
RJ Stevenson, the city’s assistant finance director, said the report met his expectations and did not include any surprises.
“I was very happy that there wasn’t anything bad on it,” said Stevenson, who is currently serving as the city’s interim finance director.
The financial statements audit was a scheduled audit, which take place every two years, Stevenson said. The city received a special financial audit in 2007 and will be audited again in 2009 because state law requires such audits whenever cities receive more than half a million dollars in federal grant money, he said. In 2007, the city received grant money for its downtown revitalization project. This year, the city received money for the state Highway 14 pedestrian tunnel, Stevenson said.
The city no longer has a solid waste enterprise fund, because Waste Connections took over billing operations for the garbage service to city customers in March, Stevenson said.
Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.
