The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

To The Eagle:

I would like to respond on behalf of Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley to Grays River Habitat Enhancement District Commissioner Poul Toftemark’s letter to the editor that appeared in your publication on January 22, 2015.

Commissioner Toftemark asserts that “the Washington State Auditor demands a lengthy full report on our finances.” He is incorrect. It is the Washington State Legislature that requires local governments to file a financial report with the State Auditor’s Office within 150 days of the close of the local government’s fiscal year. The legislature created this requirement in the Revised Code of Washington 43.09.230, and did so in 1909. So the law and the requirement have been around for more than 105 years.

Commissioner Toftemark refers to a “three-hour class just to file this report.” The class is provided – at no charge – to local government officials who want to file their financial reports online. Online filing is generally easier and less expensive than filing by mail and we encourage local governments to file online; but it is not required. It’s worth noting that the online filing classes we provided – again at no cost – in all 39 counties last year drew rave reviews from dozens of local government officials who took the courses.

Commissioner Toftemark referred to a bill for the audit of the district’s financial report that represented “20 percent of our annual budget.” The bill was $501, but we perform that audit once every three years, which comes to about $167 a year. The commissioner also asks if the $83.60 per hour that our office charged the district is what “these people are paid per hour.” Of course not, no more than the hourly rate that, say, a construction company would charge its customer would be solely its employees’ hourly wages. In any event, the hourly rates charged by the Washington State Auditor’s Office are consistently much lower than would be charged by a private CPA – thus saving taxpayers’ money.

Commissioner Toftemark argues that “the purpose of an auditor is to make sure we, the commissioners, don’t steal the public’s money.” While we do conduct fraud investigations where there is evidence or allegation of misappropriation of public funds, our auditors look at much more than blatant theft of public funds. We examine whether the local government’s operations comply with applicable requirements and provide adequate safeguarding of public resources, and whether the local government complied with state laws and regulations and its own policies and procedures in the areas we examine.

For instance, in 2006 we observed that the district was unable to locate the advertisement for bids and the bids received for a $65,796 payment to a contractor to repair a river bar. We recommended that the district ensure that all expenditures are adequately supported in accordance with state law and that the district consider other options for storing public records, such as with the county. No allegations of stealing, just advice on keeping better track of important records.

In fact, our top areas of audit concern, based on our experience with more than 2,000 local government audits, are: 1. lack of internal controls over accounting, financial reporting, cash receipting and expenditures, 2. non-compliance with federal grants, and 3. declining financial condition.

It is unfortunate that Commissioner Toftemark considers examination of the district’s stewardship to be evidence that, in his words, “the auditor is stealing the public’s money.”

We join community residents in appreciation of individual citizens such as Mr. Toftemark who are willing to volunteer their time, energy and wisdom to serve as leaders of local government operations.

What State Auditor Troy Kelley and his team of audit professionals are doing is striving to help local governments work better, cost less, deliver higher value and earn greater public trust.

Thomas Shapley

Deputy Director for Communications

Washington State Auditor’s Office

Olympia