Some representatives of the non-profit community criticized Thurston County's handling of suspected fraud in rental assistance payments during a Thursday meeting.
The Board of County Commissioners hosted a meeting with the non-profit community to clarify why it abruptly suspended contracts with the Community Action Council of Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties in February.
Thursday's discussion turned into a tense exchange of accusations, revealing a breakdown in communication between the county and the CAC, a regional non-profit that dispersed rental and utility assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county had passed federal and state funds to the CAC to support these services. In March, the county switched its contract to LiveStories, a Seattle-based company, to replace the CAC. But the disruption left hundreds of renters in limbo.
During the meeting, Commissioner and Board Chair Carolina Mejia said she stood by the board's actions thus far and doesn't trust the CAC with future contracts.
"Community Action Council says they don't trust us and honestly, from my point of view, I don't trust them," Mejia said. "Trust can be built in future years to come, but at the moment I feel we need to fix what is currently being talked about which is the whole process that led to this."
The fallout from that process prompted concerns from some members of the non-profit community, including Derek Harris, chief executive officer of Community Youth Services.
Harris told the board he felt the suspension and county's press release about it was "overkill."
"I think overall, the net impact on the community of hurting a non-profit organization or an organization like the CAC is much larger than the audit findings and the potential of a few cases of fraud," Harris said.
Communication breakdown
After a subrecipient monitoring period in December, the county informed the CAC it found some instances of suspected fraud and recommended ways to enhance internal controls.
But in a Feb. 14 letter, CAC Chief Executive Officer Kristen York asked the county to clarify its recommendations and put them in a written contract amendment. Nine days later, the board voted to suspend its contracts with the CAC.
Auditor Mary Hall said the CAC failed to address its recommendations. She blamed the tensions on a breakdown in communication.
"We expect cooperation," Hall said. "We really want to have a relationship with the CAC, but they need to have a conversation with us and that still has not happened yet."
Hall said her office already has found some fraud, but the investigation is ongoing. County Manager Ramiro Chavez said the county has started sending letters to specific individuals to recover fraudulent payments.
In response, York said she felt disappointed by the county's "misrepresentation of facts" and its concerns about the CAC's ability to continue providing services.
"We are open to having discussions about how to repair relationships with the county and hope that you can come to that place yourself," York said.
As auditor, Hall said she has an obligation to protect public funds. Any audit finding against the county would impact its ability to be approved for loans, she said, and potentially jeopardize its ability to secure future grant funding.
Following the suspension, the CAC delayed transferring client and financial information the county requested over privacy disagreements. Since then, the CAC has transferred the information and returned remaining funds.
However, Hall contends the CAC has still failed to submit some canceled checks for an audit. York refuted that claim during the Thursday meeting.
"I'm just concerned as to why it would continue to be a narrative that we're not complying," York said. "That is very hard to hear and that's very harmful to me and its harmful to our team and it's harmful to our community."
Frustration
Meagan Darrow, executive director of Together!, said she believes Hall subjectively misinterpreted letters from the CAC. She added she believes the board acted on "inaccurate" information.
Tambra Donohue, director of Monarch Children's Justice and Advocacy Center, said she too believes the board had been misinformed about the CAC.
"I think it's really important to be aware of that because that has caused significant harm to clients in our community, to the agency, to our programs," Donohue said. "It is absolutely a travesty and heartbreaking to see this played out this way and continuing into this meeting itself."
Commissioner Gary Edwards defended the board's decision and county staff. He said the county had to act because it did not receive sufficient information from the CAC.
"That decision was forced upon us by the response from the CAC," Edwards said. "I am very frustrated. I think staff were trying to do the best job they could do under an adverse situation."
Commissioner Tye Menser was hospitalized in Yakima the week the board decided to suspend its contracts with the CAC. Still, he said staff kept him in the loop online.
"I was in the hospital for a chunk of this and I was seeing emails and Facebook wars going on," Menser said. "It was just incredibly frustrating, but at no point did I feel like I was given inaccurate information by my staff."
At one point, Edwards suggested the CAC may need a change in leadership. The comment prompted Meghan Sullivan, deputy director of Together!, to ask the board to consider if they held any biases against York.
In response, Mejia rejected Sullivan's suggestion and defended county staff.
"It's extremely damaging to bring that up because that's not the case," Mejia said. "We never wanted to get to this point where we are. ... For me, it's been very harmful to see staff being thrown under the bus over and over again. It's extremely frustrating."
Hall also said she felt let down by the meeting, adding she doesn't want the non-profit community to think the county is the "bad guy" in this situation.
"I'm very disappointed with this meeting," Hall said. "Because number one, I give money to all of you. And we all want the same thing. We all want to help the community."
