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State audit prompts fixes to municipality sset tracking and municipal court controls
Summary
Finance staff told the committee the Washington State Auditor's office recommended improvements to small/attractive asset tracking and flagged weak dual controls in the municipal court; staff said the judge and city are working on policies to tighten controls and will bring revised procedures to council.
Finance staff briefed the committee on recommendations from the Washington State Auditor's office following the annual audit process.
Staff described several non-finding recommendations intended to improve internal controls and transparency. On asset management, auditors recommended stronger tracking of small and attractive assets after a 2019 review found many items not located during sampling; staff said the city will revise its surplus policy and small-asset procedures and bring those changes to council for approval.
On municipal court operations, auditors noted the absence of dual controls and limited signatory checks for court-related receipts. Finance staff said municipal court is an independent branch and the judge is collaborating with an outside organization to develop policies and procedures to bring controls into alignment with best practices. Staff emphasized these were recommendations rather than findings—the auditors did not issue management letters indicating illegal activity, but they did recommend improvements.
Staff said they will incorporate these audit recommendations into forthcoming financial-practice updates and present details to the finance committee in February.
