Auditors flag half of Washington counties over COVID-19 aid

State auditors acknowledge that native officers confronted a number of shifting and complicated guidelines on spending federal support on tight deadlines. Collins mentioned their audits have nonetheless surfaced some vital deficiencies or outdated practices.

Auditors recognized $215,408 in questioned prices for pandemic-era wage will increase and related advantages given to Island County employees for hours spent on sick or different depart. County officers argued of their response that auditors had misinterpret federal steerage, and premium pay might cowl further types of compensation. 

In Douglas County, auditors discovered officers charged $276,530 in unallowable street undertaking prices to federal State and Native Fiscal Restoration Funds exterior the mandated time interval for spending. County officers responded that they’d initially deliberate to make use of different funds to pay for the street undertaking, however didn’t discover that among the work had occurred previous to the spending interval. 

In Cowlitz County, auditors issued two findings for nearer monitoring of subrecipients over enterprise and rental help applications. Cowlitz County Accounting Supervisor Brooke Poor mentioned the county has reviewed its practices and is engaged on a brand new risk-assessment software to offer higher oversight on that spending. 

“It was difficult for our county as a result of the funds got here at us so shortly,” she mentioned. “These had been new varieties of funds.”

Cowlitz County final yr misplaced, then recovered, about $184,000 in county funds to a phishing scheme through which somebody offered a fraudulent checking account for a public works contractor, in line with a separate accountability audit. The county additionally paid $21,000 to a vendor who reportedly by no means delivered on their agreed companies. 

Poor mentioned the county has since labored to introduce new cybersecurity coaching for employees and account verification practices. 

Sadie Armijo, director of State Audit and Particular Investigations at SAO, mentioned safety and verification round digital funds will proceed to be a magnet for each auditors and native officers as they proceed spending down federal support. She famous the main points that governments should share about their undertaking bids can generally depart them extra susceptible to scams that impersonate distributors or contractors. 

“It’s important to be very deliberate and really cautious,” she mentioned. 

Discover instruments and sources in Crosscut’s Comply with the Funds information to trace down federal restoration spending in your neighborhood.

Johnson with the Washington State Affiliation of Counties mentioned native leaders worth the work of auditors, they usually hope to proceed partnering with them to verify the general public’s cash is spent correctly. He mentioned he expects native governments to want steerage on how they will commit or regulate remaining American Rescue Plan {dollars} as deadlines method in 2024 and 2026.

“They’re extremely dedicated to the accountability of those sources,” he mentioned. “We would like this cash to go to respectable makes use of.”

State and native officers got here collectively in Walla Walla this week for a county auditors convention to debate ongoing challenges with accounting for public funding together with federal COVID-19 aid cash. Martin, the native county auditor, mentioned she believes her workplace shall be higher geared up to handle audit considerations now that they’ve been by means of a pair cycles of federal aid. 

“We be taught from all of those audits on a regular basis,” she mentioned. “The departments take them critically.”

Collins on the State Auditor’s Workplace anticipated related enhancements in future audits. 

“It must be higher,” she mentioned. “They need to have the data now.”