Some compared it to Custers Last Stand. Some called it a WWF match ready to start,  There were definitely fireworks galore

A Washougal resident, a retired Seattle cop, got up and read a statement against Lou Peterson. “Peterson, you are bad, should resign, disgrace,” etc. etc. etc. Everyone kind of cringed and shrank very small. Ugly. Very ugly.

The Sean lays out his complaint against the Mayor for gross improprieties, misuse of funds (see actual text below)

Then a couple of citizens got up and said what Sean just did was “disgraceful, bogus”, etc.

Nabiel was chatised by 3 city council members because he spent $1250 of the city’s money (the Port agreed to pay for the other $1250, to hire a professional grant writer to help CNS get a grant from the FEDS, and DID NOT ask the Council beforehand. I guess it did not matter that Nabiel did get a signed agreement from the prospective business, that if they were successful in getting the FED grant money, that they would indeed move the business to Washougal.   Well, after Nabiel’s chastisement, I got up and made a statement to the Council and said, more or less, “I not only approve of Nabiel’s actions- We applaud them!. At least someone is doing something trying to bring some employer into this city.

Then to add all that  to the fire, Nabiel is interviewing for another position in Eastern WA. Usually when one interviews elsewhere, they’ve made up their mind to leave and there is not much room to change it. Nabiel will be a tremendeous loss to Washougal and this community.

The Post Record will most likely have a detailed expose on Tuesday.

Letter to the State Auditor:

Brian Sonntag

Washington State Auditor

P.O. Box 40031

Olympia, WA 98504-0031

RE:  Improprieties at the City of Washougal

Dear Mr. Sonntag:

It came to my attention in May of 2009 that there may be some improper and possibly illegal actions being taken by Washougal Mayor Stacee Sellers in regard to expense reports submitted to the City, improper use of city phones and computers for personal and campaign use, and improper use of city-issued credit cards.

I must let you know up-front that I am campaigning against Mayor Sellers in this year’s election, but that fact in no way impacts the actual information found or the violations of written policies and laws that I have uncovered.

Based on the copies of records the city has provided to me in response to various public records requests, I have found what I believe to be violations of RCW 43.09.200, RCW 42.24.090, Washington State Constitution Article VIII Section 7, the Open Public Meetings Act, as well as various city written policies and procedures.

Specifically:

As attached in exhibit one, the Mayor recently attended a conference in Las Vegas with Jeffrey Bivens.  It is implied that Mr. Bivens attended as an employee of the city, however, he had not yet been confirmed as such prior to departure for this trip and he had not yet officially resigned as a Washougal Councilmember.  That said, the expenses submitted by both include meals in excess of reasonable per diem rates, alcoholic purchases, and cash advances on the city credit card.  A summary of audit issues is outlined on this exhibit.

As attached in exhibit two, the Mayor has used her city issued and city paid cell phone for excessive personal calls, including calls to out of state family members and for her then privately owned and operated business.  Again, a summary of audit issues is outlined on this exhibit.

Also attached in exhibit two, the Mayor has contacted at least a quorum of council on the following date:  03/30/09.  There may be more dates involved; however, not all councilmember phone numbers were easily identifiable.

In addition to the above, there are many local meal receipts that do not show a detail of what was purchased or do not detail who attended or what city purpose was served, again a violation of RCW 42.24.090 as well as the city’s own adopted personnel policies.

And there is concern that the Mayor does not have a personal phone, thus using the city cell phone for all her telephone needs.  As she too is campaigning for Mayor, questions have arisen as to whether she has used city provided resources for her personal campaign.

Due to the volume of records provided by the city based on my public records requests, I am still analyzing expenses and receipts.  However, the above items concerned me enough that I felt I needed to send them to you immediately.  It appears to me that the Mayor is simply disregarding city policies and state laws to benefit her.  I have since been told that she is now starting to reimburse the city for some of these expenses, but that the reimbursements are receipted to the city after these public records requests were made.  Even if this were the case, these actions would appear to violate the state constitution’s Article VIII Section 7 forbidding the lending of public credit.

For these reasons, I am requesting that the Washington State Auditor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General open an investigation and an audit of the city records in regards to the above matters.  If there is money due back to the city, I would also request that the auditors and the attorney general insure the proper amounts are identified and paid.

Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters.

Sincerely,

Sean Guard

cc:       Attorney General, State of Washington

Public Disclosure Commission

City of Washougal

Camas-Washougal Post Record

Columbian Newspaper