Recently published audits list allegations of missing equipment and improper use of public funds at a western Washington fire district and repeated instances of misappropriation in a small eastern Washington town.
Compared to the previous year, State Auditor Pat McCarthy said fiscal year 2025 brought a concerning increase in suspected fraud and the net loss to taxpayers.
“We conducted 54% more fraud investigations and documented a more than 300% increase in the amount of public funds lost,” said McCarthy.
In response, recent restructuring within the Washington State Auditor’s Office created a formal Special Investigations Division encompassing whistleblower and fraud investigations.
Brandi Pritchard, the director of the new division, is a certified fraud examiner with 23 years at the agency.
“In the last several years, we’ve had some cases that have wiped out some of our small governments,” Pritchard told TVW’s The Impact.
According to Pritchard, financial misconduct can have an outsized impact on smaller towns, which may have fewer checks and balances in place, staffing limitations, and smaller budgets overall.
“I would think of the town of Cusick for example,” said Pritchard. “They have an average bank balance of $200,000 to $300,000 — and all of a sudden they go to the bank and they have $294 to their name.”
“The town of Metaline was another recent one where they got wiped out pretty hard,” she added.
Financial losses aside, Pritchard said towns risk losing the faith of their residents when misconduct occurs.
“You’ve become the steward of their public funds and then unfortunately, somebody betrays that trust. How do you gain that back?” said Pritchard.
