State auditor suggests Mattawa tighten accounting controls

MATTAWA — City officials lacked sufficient oversight to ensure its 2022-23 budgets were accurate, leading to a request to revise city procedures from the Washington State Auditor’s Office. 

The report, called a finding, was released Monday. It covered 2022-23.  

The auditor’s office said the errors led city officials to overestimate how much money the city owed, and how much it had transferred temporarily from one fund to another, known as an interfund loan. It also underestimated its sewer fund balance. City staff also paid expenses in its sewer capital improvements fund that hadn’t been budgeted. 

“Although the city established an independent review over its financial statements, it was not detailed enough to identify and correct all errors,” the report said. 

Cities are allowed to loan money from one fund to another, but it must be paid back. City staff failed to ensure all the loans were properly paid back, the report said. City officials also made an error when reporting Mattawa’s loan balance.  

Mattawa City Council members approved a budget for the sewer capital improvement fund. The city had other money it received and spent on the sewer project but didn’t update the budget to reflect the funding and expenditures, the report said.  

As a result of the errors some funding ended up in the wrong budget category, the report said.  

City officials acknowledged the errors and said staff members would monitor income and expenditures more closely to avoid them in the future.  

“City staff are reviewing and will continue to work with (a) third party to review financial statements to ensure accurate reporting,” according to the city response.