Who Oversees the City’s Finances?

In a past Substack article, I described the Port Angeles City Council as the Board of Directors for our city. Two council members, however, strongly disagreed. Councilmember Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin spoke at length during the September 22nd City Council meeting about not wanting this responsibility and Mayor Dexter echoed this sentiment the very next day during her debate before the Port Angeles Business Association.

This raises a serious question: Who, then, is providing financial oversight for the City of Port Angeles?

Attend a Port of Port Angeles or Clallam County Commission meeting and you’ll hear a detailed financial report every month. Those elected bodies routinely review revenues, expenses, and forecasts. By contrast, City Council meetings seldom address the city’s financial health in any meaningful way. When reports are given, they’re often disjointed and hard to follow and not one council member asks a question.

The County recently announced it would need to make budget cuts. Meanwhile, at City Council budget sessions, the discussion centers not on restraint but on new ways to raise fees, increase taxes, and spend more.

For citizens trying to dig deeper, the city’s “Open Books” website offers little comfort. There are no accounts receivable, making it impossible to see who owes the city money or how payments flow in. That’s not transparency, that’s half a ledger.

It appears the city only budgets one year at a time. The concept of a financial forecast, a multi-year look ahead at revenues and expenses, is never discussed before council. Without forecasting, there is no long-term plan, only reaction.

If the City Council doesn’t view itself as the Board of Directors, and no one else is asking the hard questions, then who is actually watching the city’s checkbook?

It’s time to immediately establish an independent Audit Committee made up of citizens with strong financial experience. Their task should be to examine the city’s budget, evaluate its projections, and hold City Hall accountable for sound financial management.

Good governance requires more than good intentions; it requires oversight. And right now, The City of Port Angeles doesn’t have any.