PORT TOWNSEND — A Mats Mats Bay resident’s questions will probably cause changes in reimbursements of county commissioners who drive their personal vehicles on county business.
The actions will also make them keep closer tabs on the how many miles they drive.
Mike Belenski, who has an eagle eye for public records, raised the questions during a commissioners meeting Monday, citing the county’s precarious financial position.
“You can’t open up a newspaper without reading about what bad financial condition the county is in,” said Belenski, who described himself as a metallurgical engineer who is “taking a break to build a house in the Mats Mats Bay area.
Belenski’s main concern, he said, centers on why commissioners don’t return part of their vehicle allowance if they don’t drive the 1,000 miles a month it’s based on.
Belenski said the money could be used for other government needs, including helping schoolchildren get a better education.
“In Chimacum, teachers are using their own money to buy supplies,” Belenski said.
Commissioner Dan Titterness, R-Port Townsend, said he didn’t think the commissioners have been doing anything wrong in the way they collect vehicle allowances, and welcomed further scrutiny.
“The smart thing to do is to have the prosecutor look at it to see if there is any wrong doing, but I don’t think there has,” Titterness said after Monday’s meeting at the county courthouse.