SPOKANE, Wash. – Washington’s Office of the Auditor has found improper spending of taxpayer dollars meant for establishing internet services in underprivileged communities. Auditors say cite purchases of first-class plane tickets, open bar tabs and over $160,000 in duplicate expenses as proof of unregulated use of the funds. Auditors told NonStop Local this money was not dispensed following proper procedure, and it all traces back to mismanagement within the state’s Department of Commerce. This purse of over 10 million dollars in taxpayer funds was meant for something called the Digital Navigator Program, a state service set up to make sure that under-served communities can access the internet. While auditors were able to point to improper spending with these funds, the auditor’s office says it’s still to be determined whether the internet service the money was meant for was successfully provided. “There’s some things that clearly weren’t part of the legislatures intent when they set up this fund,” said Adam Wilson of the Office of the Auditor. “Seeing a program with over 10 million dollars of funds where we really can’t find adequate documentation for any of it is pretty unusual.””You have one person at the Department of Commerce who’s receiving these requests for funds and approving that; there’s no one else looking at it,” Wilson said “We didn’t see a lot of management oversight of this one person.” Auditors also highlighted a lack of communication by the Department of Commerce to their vendors or contractors about what was eligible to be paid for using the funds for the Digital Navigator Program. The audit itself includes a response from the Department of Commerce laying out their plans for avoiding similar situations in the future, including better documentation of expenses, increased internal oversight and communicating expectations with vendors.”That includes having more than one person look at these things,” Wilson said. “And training your own people inside on what is considered adequate.” Auditors emphasized that they are not an enforcement agency, however, this situation has called into question similar programs across the state. They say they’ve already started an in-depth, statewide audit of all Digital Equity programs (like Digital Navigator) across Washington.
NonStop Local reached out to the Department of Commerce, but has not received a response at the time of this article’s posting.
