Hillyard Senior Center Loses County Contract $17,000 Agreement Severed Due To Accounting Problems, Allegedly Stolen Money

Spokane County officials severed a $17,000 contract Tuesday with a northeast Spokane senior center beset by financial problems.

Hillyard Senior Center lost the contract after missing a Monday deadline to submit an audit accounting for past state contracts.

County official Kasey Kramer had asked for the analysis after finding the center’s accounting records were so bungled that basic cash logs couldn’t be found.

Since the review was demanded in May, officials at the center have divulged that disorganized books aren’t the only problem.

A former accountant is accused of having stolen at least $170 in state money and $750 in cash raised at pancake feeds by the center’s elderly members, officials said.

Other records kept by the accountant had to be reconstructed, resulting in the missed deadline.

“Accounting 101 activities weren’t in place,” said Kramer, director of the Spokane County Community Services office. “We couldn’t clearly account for all the funds.”

The county contract provided meals, recreation and skills training for six developmentally disabled senior citizens. The program ends Aug. 31.

A social worker will help the six find help elsewhere, said Kramer.

With the audit pending, it’s unclear if other money is missing or has been misspent. City funds make up the bulk of the center’s budget.

Kramer said he will send the audit results to the state auditor, who will review the findings because the contract was paid by the state Department of Social and Health Services.

If necessary, Kramer said, he also will send the audit to the county prosecutor’s office.

“I’m devastated,” said Karen Holmes, who oversees the center for the Parks and Recreation Department. “That program is important.”

Loss of the contract exacerbates problems at the 600-member center, located in the Northeast Community Center.

Problems surfaced in February when Holmes noticed several overdraft notices on the center’s checking account. She then discovered the accountant was behind in making deposits and issued the woman a written warning.

Despite the warning, problems continued.

Holmes later discovered the accountant never made one deposit, in late June, as auditors were examining the center’s books. The bank bag was found in a vacant lot near the center.

The accountant, who had been working at least two years for the center, also had drained the center’s petty cash drawer, Holmes said.

Senior center and city officials refused to divulge the accountant’s name.

There was no response to letters sent to the accountant’s house. Soon after, Holmes called police. Detectives are investigating but haven’t made an arrest.

“It’s as though (the accountant) got in over her head, and when the pressure got there at the end, it appears she took some money,” said Hal McGlathery, a parks and recreation manager for the city.

But it’s unlikely that any of the city’s $90,000-a-year contribution to the center was misspent, McGlathery said. The city pays rent and salaries at the Hillyard center, but no city cash cycles through books handled by the former accountant.

Senior center board members say they’ve tapped an emergency account to pay for the independent audit and recently installed a new accounting system.

“We’re going to get it all straightened out at the first possible moment,” said Anna May King, board president.

Jonathan Martin can be reached at 459-5484 or by e-mail at jonathanm@spokesman.com.