Gold Bar worker won’t be charged
Published 9:56 pm Tuesday, April 14, 2009
GOLD BAR — Prosecutors won’t file charges against a former Gold Bar employee investigated for allegations that he misused a city credit card and then sabotaged the city’s well after he was placed on leave.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter said on Tuesday there isn’t enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the man committed a crime.
A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy, who works as an officer for the city, conducted a thorough and competent investigation, Hunter said.
The former employee disputed the allegations, saying the city was looking for a way to cut him loose.
“Despite what the prosecutor determined, we know the termination was the right decision for our city,” Gold Bar Mayor Crystal Hill said Tuesday.
Hill first called police in June after city employees noticed a spike in gasoline bills. As much as $800 in gas was charged over two years to a city credit card issued to the man, city officials reported.
The man denied using the credit card for anything other than city business.
City officials placed him on leave in July. The next day, another employee discovered two of the city’s wells weren’t operating. The valves in the pump house and an alarm had been shut off, according to the city.
A company that fixed one of the wells concluded that someone had tampered with the valves, the letter said.
The employee contended that the water shut-off was part of routine maintenance.
City officials fired the Duvall man. They also paid him a month’s salary, about $3,700, to drop any future legal claims against Gold Bar.
The city also paid two lawyers about $10,000 to deal with the matter. As part of the settlement agreement, the man’s lawyer also received $3,700, paid for by the city’s insurance carrier.
The city has since tightened policies on how its four employees use the credit cards, Hill said. Now gas cards are kept in a central location. Employees have to get permission from a supervisor, and gas purchases are documented.
The city also is cross- training employees so no single person has exclusive knowledge of one system.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
