The Secret Bond Deal Costing Taxpayers Thousands
A critical look at why Benton County’s courthouse bond issue failed to provide the value achieved by neighboring Walla Walla County.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On December 14, Benton County commissioners attempted to push a bond issue through in secret. Experts pointed out that quick delivery was supposedly essential due to the uncertainty of the bond market; however, on that same day, Walla Walla County sold $120,000 in courthouse bonds at 4 percent with a premium. Had Benton County’s bonds been sold on this basis, taxpayers would have been saved $3,700. The Walla Walla commissioners advertised for bids, whereas Benton’s commissioners attempted to handle the deal in secret without even a guess at the probable cost of the building. The man who bought the Walla Walla bonds was Mr. McMichaels, manager of the bond department of the Dexter Horton National Bank, who testified that Benton County’s bonds were not sold for what they were worth.
“The outstanding feature of difference between the two sales is that the Walla Walla commissioners advertised for bids and the Benton commissioners attempted to shove the deal thru in secret.”
This 1914 controversy over government transparency and fiscal mismanagement mirrors modern-day debates regarding public infrastructure projects and bond measures in Kennewick, where taxpayers continue to scrutinize the efficiency of county spending.
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