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 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.
In making examinations of the manner in which public records are kept, the examiners of the state bureau of accountancy more often find cause for complaint than for commendation. It is rather noteworthy that in the Kennewick Port district, the commissioners of which serve without pay, they should be commended for the manner in which its records are kept. Recently, the state made an examination of the records from the time of the district’s organization until June 30, 1916. In the report, the examiners say: 'The secretary of the district is to be especially complimented on the legible, complete and carefully executed minutes kept by him. They bear a fund of very material detail and comprise one of the most comprehensive records of this nature that we have seen recently.' Up to this time, no bond issue has been necessary and the district is in excellent financial condition, with total receipts from tax collections of $1,379.17 and total disbursements of $263.02, leaving a balance of $1,116.15.
“The secretary of the district is to be especially complimented on the legible, complete and carefully executed minutes kept by him.”
Public trust in record-keeping and fiscal transparency is a perennial civic issue. The rare instance of state auditors offering praise suggests that even in 1917, the bureaucracy was as scrutinized as it is today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.