PORT ANGELES — The city Public Works and Utilities director balked this week at a recommendation by the state Auditor’s Office that his department’s Light Operations’ scrap copper and aluminum wire should be better protected from theft.
The items are already secure and the suggested upgrade would be too expensive, Craig Fulton said.
Auditor’s Office representatives made the suggestion Wednesday during their 20-minute exit conference with the Port Angeles City Council on an estimated $60,000 audit of 2015 city finances.
A final report will be released later this year.
In the audit summary of their accountability audit report, they said overall, city operations “provided adequate safeguarding of public resources.”
Recycle bins
But Audit Lead Cheryl Friesen, following up on a 2015 audit of 2014 finances that found fault with the department’s handling of recycled materials, said recycle bins stored on Oak Street property leased from the Port of Port Angeles should be “secured with a lock box or security cameras or some kind of security.”
Fulton responded that it could cost more than $2,000 to buy a new bin or build a more secure fence to protect a few hundred dollars’ worth of recyclable copper and aluminum that are regularly removed and sold anyway.
Fulton said the area has a chain-link fence and is sufficiently secure.
“There’s no record of anyone trying to break in,” he said.
Fulton questioned the need “to spend thousands of dollars to protect $200.”
In 2015, Light Operations’ recycling practices were reviewed by the state Auditor’s Office and investigated by the State Patrol and city police department.
The police department investigated Light Operations’ employees after allegations that they cut up discarded light poles, which were purchased with public funds, and took them for their own personal use.
The police department found no criminal activity had occurred.
At the request of city officials, the State Patrol conducted a third-degree-theft investigation into employees who had established a “City Light Slush Fund” bank account at First Federal, according to the investigation.
Employees said the fund consisted of recycling proceeds from city copper fuses. The fuses were purchased with public funds and were not going to be recycled by the city.
The money was spent on employee parties, snacks and barbecues featuring prime rib that were also attended by department supervisors, according to State Patrol interviews with 14 employees that comprised hundreds of pages of transcripts.
No criminal charges were filed.
Disciplinary action
The State Patrol investigator said that two employees misled her.
City Manager Dan McKeen suspended Light Operations Manager George Drake one week without pay and Warehouseman-Purchasing Agent Sean Hairell two weeks without pay.
Drake and Hairell have appealed the disciplinary action.
“No decision has been made yet,” Abbi Fountain, city human resources manager, said Thursday in an email.
She said McKeen will decide on the appeals by mid-July.
In their 2015 audit of 2014 city finances, Auditor’s Office examiners expressed concerns about Light Operations’ recycling procedures.
Tightened procedures
Fulton said Thursday his department has since tightened procedures to address those concerns.
He said multiple people now oversee recycling to provide more checks and balances, but no physical changes were made to provide greater security against theft.
Final report
Fulton said he will decide if security improvements are warranted after the Auditor’s Office issues its final report.
“I will review it and will make a decision based on risk vs. cost and spending,” he said.
“If it comes down to spending thousands of dollars to protect $200, it does not make sense.
“But I will be open to what they have to say.
“I will keep an open mind.”
McKeen said at the City Council meeting Wednesday that ensuring public trust in the city exceeds the monetary value of the copper and aluminum wire.
“We are on the same page,” he told the Auditor’s Office staff, which included Carol Ehlinger, one of the agency’s two program managers.
The state Auditor’s Office began looking into recycling procedures in 2015 on the basis of a tip left on the Auditor’s Office whistleblower hotline, Ehlinger said Thursday.
She reiterated Thursday that the copper wire should be in secure bins if the city is going to recycle it to generate public revenue.
“In many cities and counties across Washington, this is something they have to deal with,” Ehlinger said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.