Some impetus for improvement

The long saga of county financial accounting has taken a sad turn.

Cinnamon Brown, former financial administrator in the Whitman County auditor’s office, has been arrested in Shelton, Wash., for alledged embezzlement and fraud. The charges against her pertain to her employment with the City of Shelton where she was hired in the fall as finance administrator.

At this point, no conclusions can be drawn. She is innocent until proven guilty. In fact, Monday she pleaded innocent of the charges.

In Whitman County, the auditor’s office is conducting an investication to see if anything similar occurred here. The auditor, Eunice Coker, is seeking advice from the state auditor.

Compounding the concern is the muddled state of county finances. The state has not been able to complete an audit of county finances for years. Although, just last year, the state audit team declared that the discrepancies in the county’s books were not the result of criminal activities.

Nevertheless, with all the problems and the lack of cooperation between the commissioners and the auditor, the county is prudently looking into the books.

A positive note in all this is that Sharron Cunningham is now the finance director. She is reportedly making headway in getting a handle on the process and the problems.

Still, the situation just points out the precarious position in which the county finds itself. It has not had a successful audit for a decade, and now must try to go over those same books looking for irregularities. Once again, the long, tedious and tumultuous process of trying to get accurate financial information in the county is highlighted.

If nothing else, these concerns should serve as new impetus to quickly solve the problems that have plagued the county for so long.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher