Council pulls multiple vouchers, questions consultant and contractor payments amid accounting cleanup

Sunnyside City Councilors on May 27 pulled several items from the consent agenda and demanded follow-up documentation after a lengthy discussion about consultant contracts, contractor pay and accounting reconciliation.

Councilor Claire Hancock asked for clarity on a contract with Colton Consultants, a lobbyist the city pays $3,000 per month. City Manager Mike Gonzalez said the contract’s printed effective date is Dec. 1, 2024, and described it as a one-year agreement with a 30-day out clause; he said the work is paid from the water enterprise fund and within his spending authority. Hancock pressed for the signed date and for assurance the contract did not exceed the manager’s authority; she also said Colton’s Public Disclosure Commission filing listed a three-year engagement, which, she said, raised questions about total exposure.

Hancock also questioned payments to Mr. Arriaga (identified in the packet as interim public works/planning consultant) who is billed at $85 per hour. Arriaga told the council there were two separate contracts: an initial evaluation, then a March contract to serve as interim public-works director that later broadened to include planning work; he said he is supplying invoices and attached time sheets with his monthly invoices and that he often works well beyond 40 hours per week to cover two roles. Councilors asked why monthly payments sometimes exceeded what 40 hours at $85/hr would yield; Arriaga and staff said the contractor billed for the hours he worked and submitted timesheets with his invoice.

A related consent-agenda discussion focused on “accidental” credit-card charges that had been reimbursed to the city. Staff said the charges were tied to travel and incidental hotel charges during lobbying trips; one overcharge was at the Red Lion in Olympia, and another reimbursement covered damages to towels. Staff confirmed both charges were repaid to the city and that receipts were emailed to Councilor Hancock; council asked that the emails be resent to the entire council. The city manager said those explanations would be forwarded through the manager’s office to ensure full distribution.

Councilors also raised duplicate transactions appearing in the register (transaction numbers 4220–4371 were identified as repeats of vouchers approved on May 12). Deputy Mayor asked staff to pull those items for further review. Finance staff and a finance consultant, Luis Lopez, were described as in the process of reconciling bank statements dating back to January 2024; Lopez has been working to reconcile January–March so far, and the city plans to use additional Springbrook resources to accelerate reconciliations.

Council resolved to pull several voucher items for additional documentation and reapproval at the next meeting. The consent agenda passed with the pulled items excluded; staff committed to provide receipts, transaction clarifications and contract-effective dates for council review before the next regular meeting.