Yacolt Mayor Joe Warren resigned from office Monday, one week after a state audit revealed his office had violated state laws by purchasing materials from a town employee without going through the competitive bidding process.
Warren cited “personal reasons beyond my control” for his decision, according to his resignation letter read by Mayor pro tem Dave Hancock at Monday’s town council meeting. Warren did not attend the meeting.
Warren’s term was scheduled to end later this year. The Yacolt Town Council will appoint an interim mayor prior to this fall’s elections. No timetable has been set yet on the search for a temporary mayor.
Warren’s resignation follows a report released by the Washington State Auditor’s Office on Feb. 28 that revealed state law violations and other shortcomings in Warren’s administration.
The audit uncovered that the town improperly purchased nearly $14,000 worth of equipment from public works director Pete Roberts’ business. The town did not get an independent appraisal on the value of the items, which included a water tank, generator and excavator, among other things, according to the report.
The state auditor’s office also reported that Warren did not properly oversee the town’s finances or implement previous audit recommendations. Unlike in larger communities with city managers, Yacolt’s mayor was responsible for overseeing town operations.
Warren was elected Yacolt’s mayor in 2005 to finish an unexpired term. He was re-elected in 2007.
Mayor unreachable
Warren did not address the audit report in his two-paragraph resignation letter. Attempts to reach Warren were unsuccessful Tuesday afternoon. His town-issued cell phone said, “You have reached a nonworking number.” Town employees and council members said they did not know how to get in touch with Warren aside from his town-issued cell phone.
Warren’s decision to step down was not related to town business, Hancock told fellow council members and the audience after reading the former mayor’s letter. He praised Warren for being a “passionate” advocate for Yacolt, improving Yacolt Town Park and Town Hall, and increasing public support for civic and social events.
Hancock did not immediately respond to phone calls Tuesday afternoon.
While Hancock told the council and audience that he knew about Warren’s decision before Monday night’s meeting, council members Jimmy Robertson and Karen Holyk said Tuesday night they were caught off-guard and did not know the exact reasons behind it. Each said they would respect the former mayor’s privacy.
“It would have been a little nice to have a little advance warning,” Holyk said, adding that she wished Warren well. She declined to comment when asked to evaluate the former mayor’s job performance.
Robertson said he had no problem with the mayor’s making his decision without alerting the entire council.
Robertson and council member Dave Ayers each were sworn in approximately three weeks ago. They replaced the late Ron Madler, who died, and Cindy Marbut, who is now the town’s clerk.
Council members shrugged off any suggestion that recent turnover might lead to problems in the future.
“We’re just going to keep plugging along and doing what we have to do to keep the town running,” Holyk said.
Ray Legendre: 360-735-4517 or ray.legendre@columbian.com.
