Shortly after Linda Riffe took over in late 2002, the state auditor gave her a 24-item list highlighting deficiencies in the Island County Treasurer’s Office.

She has spent much of her tenure trying to correct every item on that list. Now, she says the auditor’s office is complimentary toward her efforts.

Clinton Republican John Morrow still sees problems in the office and he hopes to unseat the incumbent Democrat in the November election.

Morrow cites a state audit “finding” last year stating the treasurer’s office was not reconciling bank and suspense accounts on a timely basis.

“That warning should have been a high priority,” Morrow said in an interview last week.

Riffe said she had resolved the issue surrounding the reconciliations.

According to a report released last month by the state auditor’s office, the finding from the previous year was mostly resolved. Delays in information being submitted to the Treasurer’s Office prevented this issue from being fully resolved.

Riffe’s first act after being elected was to meet with state auditors to get an idea of the scope of the problems she was facing.

“When I took office, a number of things needed to be taken care of and they were all high priorities,” she said.

Riffe defeated long-time Treasurer Maxine Sauter after controversy arose following criticism from the Washington State Auditor’s Office. Sauter died shortly after the election.

Riffe’s meeting with the state auditors produced a list that cited problems with internal controls, cash handling and bookkeeping. It took her until 2004 to resolve the issues raised.

Riffe said she had to make several staff changes. Of the seven core staff members, four still work for the treasurer’s office. One employee decided to spend her time being a parent while another moved for personal reasons.

The Treasurer’s Office has lost two chief accountants during her tenure but the current one has played an important role in helping to improve the office, Riffe said.

Morrow questioned what would happen to the officer should the head accountant leave.

Morrow also claimed that Riffe doesn’t follow her own investment policy when investing taxpayer’s money.

Riffe is quick to defend her investment policy which has won a professional award.

“It gives us guiding principles on how to invest wisely,” Riffe said. She pointed out the county has earned $1.47 million in interest from her investments.

Prior to her election as treasurer, Riffe was a school administrator, most recently a vice principal at Oak Harbor High School.

Riffe, 60, has a Bachelor’s degree in business education and Spanish and a Master’s degree in education administration. She is married and has two children.

Her opponent, Morrow, 59, comes from the business world and is currently a quality engineer for a firm in Bothell. He said he has 230 college credits but doesn’t have a degree. He is married with three grown children. The November election marks the first time he has run for office.

He said he decided to run because he was worried by what he read in the audit reports.

“I don’t see any root cause identified and if you don’t have a root cause, you end up putting a Band-Aid on a cancer,” Morrow said.

Morrow has a timeline outlining his plans for his first year in office. Plans include developing an employee training plan, revising organization procedures and further reviewing state auditor concerns.

He wants to see better county oversight of the Treasurer’s Office by the finance committee — a three-member board comprised of the treasurer, auditor and one county commissioner. He also wants to see more internal controls and internal accountability.

Riffe is proud of the staff she has assembled and the accomplishments achieved during her first term in office.

“We have accomplished an enormous amount of work in this office,” Riffe said.

She plans to continue improving the office. One example is instituting a new real estate excise tax system.

The Treasurer’s Office also has to work to accommodate anticipated growth in the coming years.

Technology is a big issue for the county. Riffe said she is working on getting a new accounting system for the office. The current system has been around since 1984 and is not supportable. Other offices have to submit information manually.

She realizes that such a new system costs a lot of money and, if the county can’t afford a new system, staff will have to figure a way to continue working with the current system.

Riffe added the county’s technology committee needs to come up with a priority list to upgrade equipment on a revolving basis.