Soap Lake treasurer reports reconciliations complete, says "some misappropriation of funds has been discovered"

City Treasurer Jeff Balentine told the Soap Lake City Council on Feb. 5 that reconciliations are finished for the years 2021 through 2023 and for January through April 2024 and that "some misappropriation of funds has been discovered," according to his report to the council. Balentine called in to summarize his ongoing work to reconcile accounts and prepare state audit reports.

Balentine said staff are taking steps "for reporting and correcting these findings," and are also continuing work to process payroll, clean up BARS coding and present accurate year-to-date fund and expense totals to the council. The council did not take immediate action at the meeting but was informed that further materials and a formal presentation are forthcoming.

The treasurers update matters because the reconciliations cover multiple fiscal years and are tied to state audit requirements. Balentine characterized the work as ongoing and said he will bring clearer fund totals to a future council meeting. The council packet noted reconciliations complete for 2021'2023 and January pril 2024; the transcript provides no dollar amount tied to the misappropriation, which remains "not specified" in the record.

Next steps reported by the treasurer include preparing materials for the state audit and providing council with corrected BARS coding and an itemized accounting of discrepancies. The council did not vote on any action related to the treasurers report at the Feb. 5 meeting.