In  anticipation of a city council meeting tonight at 5:30 to decide what action the city should take against Mayor Stacee Sellers, the press have swarmed around city hall already (12:00noon)
We are told that Mayor Sellers just came out of a meeting with auditors and ordered the press to all leave or she would call the police. 

She announced that there will be a press release issued at 1 PM today.

Insiders say she has been very defiant and we may expect to hear that she considers tonight’s Council meeting to be illegitimate and that she will not attend.

She apologized for the negative press that Washougal is getting.  Acknowledged that mistakes have been made but vowed that “we” would do better. 


Laid out a 5-point plan which included:


Ethics training for council and staff on allowable expenses, cell phone and computer use, etc.


Called on council to get involved and help shape solutions.


Said she would have citizens involved in future events.


Said they would look at the lean staffing levels, especially in finance.

 

Tonight should be fun.  So far three TV stations out there along with other media.

"It comes a time when you have to say, 'stop,'" said Sean Guard, who is running for mayor and who also submitted information to the state auditor's office.

"I believe when people do wrong, you need to take action. You should not cross the ethical lines," said Guard.

 In an interview with KGW:

He alerted state auditors about some questionable city purchases.

For example, the city spent $30,000 on live music, with no invoices, contracts, or documentation. According to the state auditors investigation, the city spent $12,500 on Christmas ornaments. Also, the city spent $11,800 on altered estimates from vendors.

But that's not all.

State auditors told KGW that Mayor Sellers spent almost $1000 on alcohol purchases during an economic redevelopment conference in Las Vegas. She put it on her city credit card, but has since re-paid it.

Mayor Sellers said the audit was unfair and only allowed a non-profit who works with the city two days to cough up receipts and documentation from the two city-sponsored events.

We asked her about the missing money.

"The money isn't missing, we have the documentation, the state has the documentation," said Mayor Sellers.

And what about the $12,000 Christmas ornaments?

"They aren't Christmas ornaments. We had a local artist design an original print for the city," said Mayor Sellers.

And what about all the credit card purchases?

"The city council also uses my credit card," said Sellers. "I'm not the only one who uses it."

State auditors also questioned why a former city councilman got the job as finance director. This happened without a selection process. He even received his business cards before his appointment was approved the city council.

"There's right and wrong. It's not okay to be dishonest," said Guard.

This audit can't happen at a worse time for Mayor Sellers, up for re-election next week. She, however, doesn't feel the audit makes the city of Washougal look bad.

"I don't see it how you do, " said Mayor Sellers, "We are short staffed, we need to change our internal controls, but the city council is doing the best job they can."

Two city council members are calling for a special hearing on the matter.

The state auditor will continue to investigate and if not satisfied, will take the matter to the county prosecutor. "  www.kgw.com