More oversight needed, auditor tells Town

The Washington State Auditor's Office has completed audits for the the Town of Cathlamet for the year 2015.

While the auditors had no major finding for the town, auditors did recommend, in a letter, the town increase oversight over the clerk/treasurer and of emergency medical department funds.

The letter said, "The Town has appointed a Clerk/Treasurer to manage the accounting and financial reporting of Town operations. The Mayor and Town Council are responsible for overseeing these functions including approving all disbursements made by the Town.

"In our prior audit, we found that the Town lacked adequate oversight of the Clerk/Treasurer responsibility to ensure proper Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings, resulting in assessed penalties of $58,000.

"During our current audit we identified a continued lack of oversight over Town operations. This resulted in further noncompliance with required IRS filings. To avoid further penalties, the IRS required the Town to file past due documents and implement a system to ensure future compliance of tax payments and timely filing of required information. The Town has since replaced the Clerk/Treasurer and is now contracting out for all payroll services including the preparation and filing of IRS reports and payments.

"We recommend that the Mayor and Council develop adequate internal controls to monitor and oversee Town operations. We also recommend the Town continue working with the IRS to address any outstanding filings and associated penalties.

"The Town provides citizens Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and charges for out of the County transports. During 2014 and 2015, the Town billed $213,480 and $205,134 for these services, respectively. The Town has established billing and collection procedures which include guidelines for past due accounts, specifying the use of a collection agency for amounts outstanding more than four months unless alternate arrangements have been established.

"The Town is not actively monitoring outstanding amounts for EMS transport services provided. As of August 2016, the Town had approximately $200,000 in total accounts outstanding. Of this amount, $130,000 was for amounts billed prior to December 21, 2015. The Town has not sent accounts to collections in accordance with the established billing guidelines. Without adequate oversight and timely follow up on outstanding balances, the Town is not ensuring all amounts owed are received.

"We recommend the Town monitor the EMS billings reports and follow the established guidelines for collection of past due accounts."