County workers can find and keep

By Kate Reardon

Herald Writer

COUPEVILLE — A new "finders keepers" ordinance may allow an Island County employee to keep about $500 he found on the job, over the objections of Sheriff Mike Hawley.

Hawley takes issue with a new law that allows county employees to keep unclaimed items found on the job, saying it is shortsighted and opens the door for conflict of interest charges.

Bill Oakes, county public works director, said he supported the idea after a county worker cleaning up a roadside found the money and turned it in to the sheriff’s office. The employee later learned that because he was a government worker, he would not be able to retrieve the money if it went unclaimed.

Oakes said the employee would be able to claim the money under the new law.

Community members, on the other hand, can keep property if it’s not claimed within 60 days of being turned in.

But state law prohibits government employees from claiming items found on the job unless a local ordinance states otherwise.

Pam James, an attorney at the Municipal Research and Services Center in Seattle, said she hasn’t heard of many local governments adopting such an ordinance.

Everett, for example, follows state law. The county worker in this case learned about the law after turning in the money, Oakes said.

The county commission voted unanimously late last month to adopt the finders-keepers provision. Hawley said he didn’t realize the commissioners were considering the law and said he would have spoken against it at a public hearing.

Since then, Hawley has made it clear to his staff that the new ordinance does not pertain to them.

"We handle all sorts of property, and we have to be squeaky clean," Hawley said. "There’s enough mistrust in government now. It’s important for me to let my employees know and the public know what my stand is on this."

Adjustments to the ordinance making sure it doesn’t apply to law enforcement could clear up any confusion, Oakes said. However, officials said they aren’t sure whether changes will be made to the ordinance.

Even though Hawley still has heartburn over the issue, he said he has no plans to push for a change.

"Whether they decide to modify or change it, that’s their business," Hawley said of the commission.

Hawley said his department handles so much property that it wouldn’t be right for his employees to take part in the finders-keepers ordinance. "We’re working in government, and the fact is that we should be held to a higher standard," Hawley said.

Oakes and commission chairman Mike Shelton admit the ordinance may have been broadly written, but they say it was never intended to allow officers to claim property confiscated during sheriff’s investigations.

Even so, Hawley said he believes that when someone is working on behalf of the county, unclaimed items should become the property of the county and taxpayers, and not individuals.

Shelton said law enforcement officer securing items during a police investigation is different than a county employee finding money along the road. Shelton said common sense says that property obtained by law enforcement would not be subject to the finders-keepers law.

The new ordinance gives county employees the same rights as any other citizen in Island County, Shelton said.

Hawley said community members each year turn in hundreds of items such as bikes, jewelry, wallets and purses. Rarely do owners reclaim the goods, Hawley said.

Unclaimed merchandise is either given to the person who found it or sold at an annual county auction. Money goes into the general fund.

Oakes said he hopes the ordinance will help encourage workers to turn in found items, giving the owners a chance to recover the goods.

You can call Herald Writer Kate Reardon at 425-339-3455 or send e-mail to reardon@heraldnet.com.

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