NOTE: ARCHIVED ARTICLE FROM CITYOFCAMAS.US ON DAY OF ITS ORIGINAL POSTING.
Message Summary:
I’m reaching out today to share some information that you’ll likely be hearing more about in the media.
This isn’t the type of information I’m excited to be sharing with you, but -- as you know -- it’s very important to me that we continue to have open and honest conversations about the issues affecting Camas residents.
Recently we learned that detectives from the Camas and Washougal police departments have filed materials with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office regarding an audit of the Camas-Washougal Economic Development Association, also known as CWEDA. This audit points to a misappropriation of funds by an individual affiliated with organization.
This is not easy news to hear. Not for me, not for our employees and leadership, and certainly not for you.
First and foremost, I want to thank the police departments for their efforts. They always perform their duties with the highest level of professionalism and care, and I know this task was no different.
Second, I want express that although it is extremely difficult to hear about, I am confident that this review process will further strengthen our practices.
Over the last few months, I’ve worked closely with the many people and organizations that support our community, and I do not have any concerns about current practices.
So, with that, I thank you for being a part of these ongoing conversations with me, and I hope to talk with you again soon.
I find it ironic that the group of people running fastest for cover from Paul Denis' gas and cheeseburgers theft, are the same group that last month spent $22M on a project that was promised to cost taxpayers $4.5M just two years ago. #smh
Seems like damage control to me. Like oops, better say something before it becomes public knowledge. So the money has been/ will be paid back, right? It's no wonder many of us are suspicious of the city's dealings.
😮 Before that happens, however, CWEDA will deal with the findings of a financial audit, currently being done by the Washington State Auditor’s Office (WSAO). Ripp said that the report, which he expects to receive by the end of January, could find fault in the way CWEDA was structured in its early years.
“When we started CWEDA, we were told by our legal team that it wasn’t a public entity,” he said. “Then the Port went through an audit in 2017, and the (WSAO) saw CWEDA and said, ‘Do you realize this is all under this category?’ We were like, “OK, it is a public entity.’”
“It had been acting like a public entity when it came to how the meetings were run,” he continued. “Members of the public were invited, and when we had to go into executive session, we followed those rules. But we weren’t stringent on everything, like sending out meeting notices and approving minutes and financial statements. Once we realized CWEDA had to follow the same guidelines as the cities and the Port, we made the changes immediately.”
Ripp said the audit had no impact on the decision to terminate CWEDA.
“It has nothing to do with it,” he said. “We started talking about CWEDA after Paul stepped down, which was before we were notified of the audit. CWEDA will officially terminate in June, but we need to cover any expenses up until then. One of those expenses is our audit, and we’ll pay for that.”
The whole CWEDA arrangement was shady from the beginning, in how it was formed from inception. Maybe someone should ask the long standing Council Members that approved this arrangement back in 2011, and what type of public oversight was employed to monitor the books behind this supposed private entity, that was funded with tax payer monies. I wonder what happened in the early days of this formation, because the audit was only able to find expenses from the past few years to buy (old car parts, burgers, PetSmart, hotel stays)? I bet we will hear nothing more about this issue, except for the Mayor's weak press conference last night. Didn't hear one word of this issue from the Council last night, hmmm.
Again to be very clear, in an exceptionally bold move by the city of Camas, this important information was released far past business hours at 7:30pm and in the middle of Camas' 4/20/20 remote city council meeting.
It was not addressed at all during that meeting.