A state audit shows that Thurston County misappropriated at least $5,086 in a payroll by paying an employee for time they did not actually work.
The county notified the Washington state Auditor's Office about the potential loss of public funds in February 2020, according to the state fraud investigation report released April 22. The employee worked as a division director in the Public Health and Social Services department until the county terminated them in June 2020.
A county investigation determined the division director was paid for 104 hours of time not worked between April 2018 and April 2019, according to the report.
To determine the extent of the misappropriation, the county reviewed timekeeping records between April 1, 2018 and Feb. 29, 2020, including timesheets, badge scans at the building where the individual worked, computer activity logs, email records and the person's calendar.
Thurston County Public Health and Social Services officials declined to comment further, refusing to reveal which division was affected by the misappropriated funds or which supervisor approved the former division director's timecards. PHSS also declined to state whether any other employees took advantage of timekeeping weaknesses before they were corrected.
The state Auditor's Office report says they agree with the county's investigation, but they also calculated an additional $1,966 in questionable costs for 40 hours of work between July 2018 and December 2019. The report notes it's unclear if the division director worked or not during those 40 hours.
When questioned by the county on March 6, 2020, the report claims the division director admitted they should have claimed leave for several days totaling 72 hours or $3,505 in payroll.
The report claims the division director's supervisor did not thoroughly review the timesheets. The supervisor reportedly trusted the division director, who held a salaried leadership position, to honestly keep track of their time worked.
To prevent this from happening again, the report calls on county supervisors to be mindful of their employees' schedules and attendance so they can verify time worked.
In the same report, county officials say they have strengthened their timekeeping procedures at Public Health and Social Services to ensure any discrepancies are identified and corrected prior to final payroll approval.
"The county takes internal controls, transparency and maintaining public trust very seriously," the county's response says. "When the issue was brought to the attention of management, we immediately began an investigation, and notified the State Auditor's Office of potential loss of public funds."
The report also recommends the county recover the misappropriated $5,086 and related investigation costs of $3,780 from the former division director or from its insurance bonding company.
Thurston County officials say they plan to take appropriate steps to recover the funds.
The state Auditor's Office says it will refer this case to the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. As of Monday, Christy Peters, chief of staff at the PAO, said her staff had not received the report.
Any compromise or settlement the county may reach will have to be approved by the state Auditor's Office, the report notes.
