No findings reported by SAO

MOSES LAKE — State auditors gave Moses Lake City officials passing marks in two different reports released Friday.

The Washington State Auditor's Office issued separate reports on the city's accountability and financial statements Friday, finding no problems with how the municipality handled its finances or its compliance with state guidelines for the year 2004.

In the accountability report, the SAO said the city complied with state laws and regulations, and it's own policies and procedures in the areas chosen to be examined.

"Internal controls were adequate to safeguard public assets," the report read.

The audit looked at compliance in a number of areas including the Open Public Meetings Act, compliance with competitive bidding requirements, state grants and ethics laws.

A financial statements audit also found no instances of non-compliance, giving the city a passing grade.

"We noted no matters involving internal controls over financial reporting and its operation that we consider to be a material weakness," the financial statements audit report read.

Moses Lake City Finance Director Ron Cone said the city is always working to maintain its clean audits.

"They don't have any problems with what the city's doing," Cone said, adding that the city strives to maintain those type of audits from the state.

Auditors last found problems with the way the city conducted its business in 2001, when auditors discovered problems regarding a real property purchase. The SAO reports said though that the problem has since been resolved.

Moses Lake City Manager Joe Gavinski was out of the office Monday and unavailable for comment on the results of the audit.