• Travel reimbursement requests were not consistently filled out and documentation was lacking to determine if $3,842 in travel expenditures was for legitimate city business.
• La Center paid $2,555 for employees, elected officials, spouses and guests to attend social events, such as golf tournaments and receptions, for which no clear public purpose was identified.
• The city spent $1,166 on flowers for various purposes during the three-year audit period, January 2004 through December 2006.

In response to the audit, La Center officials issued a two-page news release saying the city has already implemented the auditor’s recommendations or is in the process of doing so.

The release says La Center disagrees with the auditor’s conclusion that the city did not follow its policies or adequately document the public purpose for meal reimbursements.

“While we may not have the level of detail on these expenses to fully satisfy the state’s review, we are confident that all of the expenses were for legitimate city business and necessary for effective and efficient function of city government,” Irish said in the statement.

The release also says City Attorney Dan Kearns will provide additional training on the Open Public Meetings Act, which requires council members to conduct most city business in public. The state law allows officials to meet behind closed doors to discuss a number of items, including pending or possible litigation, labor negotiations and property transactions.

“While the violations were in the past, we are not aware of any recent problems,” Irish said in the news release, referring to council members’ work regarding the Cowlitz casino. “However, we believe that a refresher course would be beneficial.”

The e-mail messages, most of which were sent in 2005 and the first half of 2006, reveal a pattern of some city council members’ working closely behind the scenes with representatives of the city’s cardrooms to oppose the Cowlitz casino.

Councilwoman Linda Tracy wrote in a Jan. 26, 2006, e-mail to Councilman Troy Van Dinter that the city and the cardrooms “are ONE as far as I’m concerned.”

The next day, Tracy wrote that she would listen to a Feb. 1, 2006, presentation by tribal officials with “only half an ear because I really don’t want to hear what they have to say.”

The auditor’s report lacks this level of detail, but it did refer to “a strategy for communicating with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a selection of council members to attend a trip to Washington, D.C.”

Council members met in April 2006 to determine which two council members would travel to Washington, D.C., to hand-deliver a letter voicing the city’s opposition to the Cowlitz casino.

Early in the meeting, it became apparent that council members already had decided Van Dinter and former Councilman Dale Smith would make the trip. At one point, council members openly discussed how Smith and Van Dinter had already booked airfare and mentioned specific flight times.

The state audit also found problems with the city’s internal controls and policies to ensure that restricted city money is spent only for legally allowable purposes and to ensure the reliability of its financial reports.

Jeffrey Mize can be reached at 360-735-4542 or jeff.mize@columbian.com.