Despite firing off a warning in January, the Washington State Auditor says it has not yet received required financial data from Whidbey General Hospital and other local entities.
It is the fourth consecutive year that Whidbey General Hospital failed to file documents on the state auditor’s website as part of an initiative to increase public access to information.
Those responsible for filing the documents complain that the process is arduous and redundant. For the moment, noncompliance carries no penalties, so filing falls to the bottom of the list of priorities.
“I know of no penalty for not doing it other than you’re not compliant with the law,” said Adam Wilson, communications manager for the state auditor’s office.
Wilson mentioned there was talk recently by legislators about putting in place some kind of penalty for noncompliance.
The auditor’s office released a list in January of those agencies that are non-compliant. The list included 11 Island County agencies.
Whidbey General began the process for 2014 but had not completed it as of press time, Wilson said. The three previous years were never submitted.
Whidbey General Hospital board member Georgia Gardner, a certified public accountant, said that on top of all the other financial documentation required by hospitals, uploading the additional information seems redundant.
“Frankly, if I was running the accounting department, it would be the last thing I would do,” Gardner said. “It’s a matter of too few people with too many things to do.”
“It’s not as important as a lot of things.”
Gardner said that those interested can alway request financial information from the hospital to review.
Documents are not routinely available online, however, except through the state auditor’s website.
Governmental entities are required to upload budget and finance information to the state auditor’s Local Government Financial Reporting System within 150 days from the end of the year, or by May 30.
The hospital is not the only agency with a history of noncompliance.
Island County Emergency Services Communications Center is also in its fourth year of noncompliance. ICOM Office Manager Jan Smith said Friday that the organization is in the process of preparing the data and hopes to upload it within the next 10 days.
“It’s a long-going process,” Smith said. “We had to rebuild a lot of data.”
Island County was also listed as noncompliant, but the county completed the process June 4, five days after the deadline.
Other agencies listed as non-compliant for 2014 are Island County Cemetery District, Island County Drainage Districts No. 1 and 5, Juniper Beach Water District and the Island County Council of Governments.
Those agencies listed in the January report that appear to now be compliant for 2014 include Admirals Cove Water District, Crockett Lake Water District, Freeland Water District, Holmes Harbor Sewer District and Lagoon Point Water District,
“We appreciate every effort local governments make,” Wilson said.
“We believe they’re an important part of being accountable to the public.”
