Re: “‘Damning audit’ begs the question: Who is protecting taxpayer interests in King County?” (Aug. 29, Opinion):
I retired in 2018 after 14 years of managing public grant funds at a nonprofit group in Snohomish County. After studying in regards to the inexcusable lack of oversight and accountability by King County Division of Neighborhood and Human Companies in managing funds distributed to neighborhood teams, I’ve a renewed appreciation for the Snohomish County Human Companies Division, and significantly the employees I labored with from the Workplace of Neighborhood and Homeless Companies.
Their monitoring of our use of public funds was performed carefully, professionally, at common and predictable intervals, and in a spirit of partnership. They facilitated our accountable use of public funds in a context of guidelines and rules that might be difficult, cumbersome and typically downright annoying, and have been there for a cause — the underside line of accountability to taxpayers and the neighborhood.
King County should do higher.
Deborah Hyman, Seattle
