The Jefferson County Public Utility District (PUD) has received its second clean state financial audit in a row and has resolved problems revealed in past audits, auditors with the Office of the Washington State Auditor told PUD commissioners.

In a Jan. 8 exit interview with commissioners, three state auditors advised the utility that they would be giving the district an “unmodified opinion” on 2016 financial statements and on a 2015-2016 accountability audit. An unmodified opinion is considered a clean audit.

Lead auditor Kendra Huson, audit supervisor Amy Strzalka and audit manager Carol Ehlinger attended the special board meeting and thanked the district for the hard work and responsiveness of staff during the monthlong review of the PUD’s books.

The auditors advised the district that the cost of the audit this year would be about $56,000, but that the next audit would cost less in part because “the district controls are improving and that makes the audit easier and go easier.”

The final audit results were to be publicly released this week by the state Auditor’s Office, according to Auditor’s Office spokesperson Kathleen Cooper. (Go to sao.wa.gov for the final, written decision of the auditors.)

‘FULLY CORRECTED’

The auditors indicated that while there were findings in audits in 2012-2014 – a finding indicates a problem that needs to be corrected – Strzalka agreed with PUD staff that prior issues involving internal controls not being accurate or complete had been “fully corrected.”

There were a few issues that auditors did raise that had to do with depreciation expenses and breaking out reports, but those were considered “immaterial,” one auditor said.

Board president Jeff Randall thanked both staff and the auditors for their hard work in completing the audit, according to an audio recording of the meeting.

Randall asked how most utilities did throughout the state, and auditors indicated that 80 percent of utilities received a clean opinion.

“So this is where you want to be. You’re an outlier if you are getting repeated findings,” Randall confirmed.

Commissioner Wayne King thanked the staff for its hard work.

“We hope we can continue with a clean audit. I like that,” King said, according to the recording.

After the meeting, Kevin Streett, PUD assistant general manager, also praised staff for the improvements made and credited interim CFO Tammy Lehman, now in her second stint with the PUD, for the turnaround.

Before Lehman was hired, the PUD had received the third of three difficult audits in a row. She has been earning $165 an hour to get the PUD’s books into shape.

“Transitioning from a 5,000-customer, eight-employee water and sewer district into the 19,000-customer, 50-employee operation has not been without its challenges,” said Streett in a press release. Streett was hired in late 2012 and helped oversee the buildup and management of the PUD’s electrical division after the public utility took over the East Jefferson County holdings of the private Puget Sound Energy (PSE).

Streett noted that staff turnover, especially in chief financial officers (CFOs), has been tough.

“But we keep changing, and improving, and I’m proud of where we’ve come to today,” he said in a press release.

The PUD has gone through three permanent and two interim CFOs since buying the East Jefferson County holdings of PSE in 2013. It is conducting a nationwide search for a new CFO after its last CFO, Susan Carter, left after less than a year into the job.

Streett also credited the PUD board for taking the findings of prior audits seriously and bringing in accounting firm Moss Adams to help provide additional oversight to the district.