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83 stories matching audit
- The Battle Over Public Health
A heated public dispute erupts between the Seattle Board of Health and the City Council’s Auditing Committee over the costs of a recent smallpox outbreak.
- The General and the Missing Military Money
A Senate committee says Washington's adjutant general ran the militia like a personal fiefdom, blew through his appropriation and left the state with a military deficiency.
- The State Must Pay the Men It Called to Put Down the King County Riots
The Washington Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Gov. Ferry's National Guard troops were in state service during the King County riots—and that the state, not the soldiers, must bear the cost.
- City Council Scuttles Audit Due to Budget Woes
A promise to investigate municipal finances evaporates after officials realize there is no cash left to pay the expert accountant.
- A County Treasurer’s Bond With Too Many Holes
Seattle’s newly elected county treasurer filed a surety bond riddled with defects, withdrawn signatures and backers who pledged more than they could justify.
- The Treasurer’s Bond Had a Hole in It
Seattle’s treasurer-elect filed a $90,000 bond, but wives’ names were penciled in, signatures were missing, and one backer wanted out.
- The Grange Takes a Stand for Reform
Lynden's Pomona Grange convenes to debate cooperative rail lines, nonpartisan judiciaries, and a grand jury to audit county books.
- Growers Hold Tense Meeting Over Fruit Sales
After disputes over audit transparency, White Bluffs fruit growers gathered at the schoolhouse to debate the future of their cooperative marketing agreement.
- The Road Supervisor's Vindicated Record
W. A. Joyce clears his name after accusations of auditing illegal claims in Grant County.
- The Populist Takes the County Treasury
After a long bond fight, J. W. Maple finally took control of King County's money—and the temporary treasurer resigned rather than stand in the way.
- The Audit Office Face-Off
A taxpayer stands her ground against a city commissioner over property tax hikes, leaving the local government bureaucrats stunned.
- Seattle's School Board Votes $400,000 in Bonds—and Pockets the Audit Demand
The board funds a debt, hears charges that thousands were mismanaged, then lets an audit resolution die for lack of a second.
- The Price of Justice in 1876 Seattle
A meticulous audit of King County court records reveals the day-to-day costs of frontier law, from witness fees for 'Indian Lucy' to the building of the very first jail.
- City Treasurer Decamps as Embezzlement Scandal Rocks Seattle
City Treasurer Adolph Krug has fled the city after an audit revealed a $20,000 deficit in his accounts.
- The State Paid the Troops That Faced the Coal Riots
Washington's Supreme Court ruled that militia sent to Gilman, Franklin and Newcastle during the 1891 coal-mine troubles acted in the state's service — and the state, not King County, had to pay.
- The City Hall Standoff That Left a Man Bleeding
A laborer with a mangled foot was denied hospital care due to a convoluted bureaucratic web between the Health Officer, the police, and the Board of Public Works.
- The Great Seattle Audit: When the Mayor Defended the Ledger
Facing down accusations of corruption and fiscal recklessness, Seattle’s outgoing mayor releases a meticulous—and defensive—account of his administration's massive infrastructure push.
- The Million-Dollar Water Heist
A scathing audit reveals that Tacoma taxpayers were bilked out of over a million dollars in a rigged water works acquisition deal.
- The School Board's Hidden Books
A citizen's attempt to audit the Seattle Board of Education sparks a tense confrontation over transparency and the fear of a local 'poorhouse scandal.'
- King County Commissioners Billed Taxpayers for 25,943 Miles—More Than the Earth's Circumference
A letter to the editor by F. F. Ames accuses the King County board of padding mileage, charging for trips to Olympia, and paying an unauthorized colleague from county funds—violating state law.
- The Adjutant General and the Missing $40,000
Ortis Hamilton was charged with embezzling state and national military funds—and an audit found 90 percent of the Washington towns checked so far were also short.
- The City’s First Legal Battle: Seattle vs. the Man Who Owned the Water
In April 1877, just months after Seattle was incorporated, the new Common Council authorized a lawsuit against Henry Yesler—the very man who built the city's first mill and gave it its name—over a dispute that would define municipal power.
- The Great City Printing Graft
Seattle’s local newspapers accused the Telegraph of padding city bills, sparking a political firestorm that reached the city council.
- The Mayor's Ethical Tightrope
Mayor Weatherwax refuses to step down following a dispute over municipal payments to his own lumber company.
- Corruption Charges in Snohomish County
The Snohomish County Attorney charges commissioners with 'malfeasance, misfeasance, corruption, and misdemeanor' in a sweeping legal bid to remove them from office.
Also about this, in other words
- The Auditor's Ledger: A Financial Scandal in Pioneer Seattle
When tax-payers demanded answers about vanishing funds, the county auditor offered only vague excuses—and a newspaper editor called for a total house cleaning.
- The Auditor’s Scathing Reply
A war of words erupts between a Mason County auditor and the Adjutant-General over military duty records.
- The Auditor and the Sheriff: A Public Spat Over Corruption
In the lead-up to the 1876 election, a public war of words between King County's Auditor and former Sheriff exposes the messy, opaque, and highly questionable state of territorial bookkeeping.
- The State's Mounting Red Ink
State Auditor T.M. Reed delivers a scathing biennial report to the legislature, blaming erratic spending and poor revenue laws for a ballooning state debt.
- A Community Keeps a Job Open for an Injured Neighbor
When an auditor was sidelined by severe physical injuries, the community and competing candidates moved to ensure he could still earn a living through the office fees.
- The Tax Assessors' Cold Shoulder
Washington's county assessors struggle to find a warm place to meet, eventually retreating to the State Auditor's office to set property valuation standards.
- An Unheard-of Compliment for Port Records
State auditors break from tradition to praise the Kennewick Port District's record-keeping, noting the commissioners serve without pay.
- The Auditor's Ledger Reveals County Financial Chaos
A two-year audit of Yakima County's books exposes missing records, uncollected taxes, and an impossible-to-balance treasury.