EVERETT — A state audit released June 12 found that the city of Edmonds did not adequately monitor COVID-19 recovery funding in 2023.
It’s the city’s third audit since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant monitoring.
In 2023, Edmonds spent more than $3.6 million in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery funding. Of that funding, the city granted more than $880,000 to Edmonds College and Washington Kids in Transition, a nonprofit that provides homelessness assistance to children.
At Edmonds College, the funding went toward the Student Emergency Assistance Grant Program. The audit found that the city did not obtain any documentation from the college that demonstrated students were eligible to receive the funds.
In the report, the city said that because of student privacy concerns, eligibility documentation relies more on written applications, student interviews and internal verification.
“Due to (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protections, the college was limited in the level of personal data it could share externally without student consent,” the city wrote. “While this model limited the City’s ability to independently audit eligibility at the individual level, it is consistent with the state’s recognized approach to supporting systemically disadvantaged students and aligns with SEAG Program principles.”
For Washington Kids In Transition, the audit found the city did not have documentation from the fourth quarter of 2023 that showed funding recipients were eligible. The city said it learned the organization was not complying with federal audit requirements and immediately terminated the grant program.
Washington Kids in Transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Details from the audit were first reported in My Edmonds News.
State audits revealed similar findings of insufficient COVID-19 grant monitoring in 2020 and 2021. Staff turnover and insufficient training contributed to the continuing issue, the audit found.
“The City received a recommendation in the prior audit related to this issue and began changing its procedures,” the report read. “However, due to timing and staff turnover, it was unable to perform and document all portions of subrecipient monitoring requirements for the period under audit.”
In addition to insufficient monitoring, the audit found that the city’s internal guidelines for how it used the relief funding were inadequate.
In 2023, Edmonds failed to address requirements for “piggybacking,” or buying goods through a contract with another agency, the audit found.
The city piggybacked onto another agency’s contract to purchase vehicles, the audit read. The city said it addresses piggybacking in its purchasing policy, but not in the federal funding section, which it said it will update.
The audit also found the city defined the purchase of a software system as “sole source,” meaning only one vendor is able to provide the item. However, the city did not provide enough proof that it was the only option, the state found.
“To ensure compliance, although the City did confirm that the vendor followed their own bid law requirements, the City will do a better job documenting that verification in any future equipment purchases using federal funding,” the city wrote.
Moving forward, the city said it would update its agreements with grant funding subrecipients, implement stricter tracking and documentation, and improve staff training. The state will follow up on its findings in its next audit.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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