The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1921-04-07
GRAND JURY REBUKES BUT ->"
RETURNS NO TRUE BILLS il
=. >- AGAINST COMMISSIONERS

out advertising for bids or making
any records whatsoever of the trans
action; they have purchased machin-
cry for which there was no need, a
large amount of which is at this time
unpacked and in storage in some
warehouse. Their reasons for so do
ing can only be surmised by us.
They have kept large numbers of
men working on force account work
on which they have maintained no
adequate check, with the result that
many thousands of dollars have been
lost to the taxpayers through pad
ded payrolls. They have been and
still are maintaining superfluous
road overseers and assistants who,
from the very nature of their occu-
! patton and limited services. rendered
are not profitably engaged to the
county and for which the county is
receiving but little benefit when the
large expense attached thereto is con-
sidered; they have not used any sys-
! tenn whatsoever which enables them
to operate efficiently any purchasing
agency for the county. In many cas-
es they have carried on the county
business without leaving any record
whatsoever of their transactions;
their files and records are in most
unsatisfactory and incomplete condi-
tion.
Hundreds of dollars worth of mis-
cellaneous materials and merchandise
are bought for Benton county each
month, most of which is bought by
unauthorized persons, who are not
bonded or who are in no way response
BILE to the county for their acts. Bills
for these items are presented to the
county commissioners who ok them
without any knowledge as to whether
| the items have been furnished to the
county or whether the prices charged
for them are reasonable or correct.
Operations in this line are carried
on in so loose manner that there is
no protection whatever to the county
against the appropriation of county
property to private uses and we have
an abundance of evidence showing
that this has been done in a whole
sale way. Further, the county has
no protection whatever against pad
ded bills, if any one was disposed to
present them.
That much evidence was submitted
to this jury which proved to its sat
| isfaction that your county commits
sioners have individually taken the
responsibility of incurring obliga-
tions against the county of many
thousands of dollars, without having
said obligations first brought before
80 ccs1, onI oil
! lowed in due form as provided by
law. That said commissioners have
Individually repeatedly entered into
contracts with road overseers, special
engineers and others employed by the
county to pay for accessories and up
keep of their private automobiles in
return for any use to which they
might be put for the county.
Purchasing Agent Not Acting
Repeatedly resolutions were passed
by the board of commissioners rela-
tive to the future of the board in the
management of the affairs of the
county, and within short time after
the passage of said resolutions no
further attention was paid to thera.
For instance, one member OF the
board was elected by resolution of
the board as purchasing agent, and
! within a short time each member
of the board becomes a purchasing
agent for his district, grabbing all
the county funds within his reach,
and spending same as freely as the
proverbial drunken sailor. In several
, instances itemized statements of au-
tomobile supplies and accessories fur
nished to Commissioner Bash on his
personal car and charged to the coun-
ty were allowed and paid by said
county commissioners out of the coun-
ty funds with the unanimous consent
of said board. ss
Padding of Pay Rolls
Padded pay rolls were paid from
county funds, as also were altered
expense accounts and all this without
the dissenting vote Of a commission
er. From the large number of in
stances in which such grossly irregu-
lar claims have been allowed, and
that without resistance on the part of
any commissioner, it would seem to
YOUR Jury that there has been, and
now is an understanding among the
members of said board, that each
would ratify the claims allowed by
the other irrespective of their merit
or irregularity. q
Increases in Taxes
We find that in 1910, Benton coun-
ty with a population of 1888 people
had a tax levy for all purposes of
1926, ,9s1, that in 1920 with popula-
tion of 1O,9O3 the taxes levied for
all purposes, poll tax excepted, the
sum of $500, ,433. So that with an
increase of only 2,965 in our popula-
ton, we find an increase in our tax TX
es of s516,452.OO, an increase of 47.S5
for every man, woman and child IN
Benton county. And we ask wnitner
are We drifting? .~a
Warrants for labor that was never
performed and same endorsed and
cashed by other parties to whom no
authority was given were issued and
paid by the county. There is evidence
that payrolls have been padded IN
] v,I fNvoY1nnn ann