Wednesday, March 6, 2002
By ERIK ROBINSON, Columbian staff writer

The Clark Conservation District overbilled three grants by almost $8,000 in the year 2000, State Auditor Brian Sonntag has found.

Roger Falter, conservation district chairman, said the mistake was related to a changeover in computer-accounting programs leading up to Y2K, and the money has been written off or paid back to the granting agencies. Almost half of the money was owed to the state Conservation Commission, which Falter said contributed to the problem in the first place.

In changing over the district's accounting system, Falter said, the state conservation commission faxed the local district an incomplete set of instructions.

According to the audit findings compiled by Sonntag's office, the labor rate used by the district incorporates a percentage of sick days, vacation, holidays and medical benefits. Although the audit found Clark calculated that rate correctly, the district also directly charged three grants for those same benefits effectively double-billing the state conservation commission for two grants and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for a third.

The district paid back the Fish & Wildlife Service with a pool of money collected to pay benefits to people commissioned to do conservation projects in Clark County, Falter said.

"We don't build up a storehouse of money anywhere, other than employee benefits," he said.

The conservation district has no authority to levy taxes, and it draws its entire budget from state and federal grants specifically earmarked for projects designed to help landowners conserve soil, water, wildlife and other natural resources. Last year's budget totaled about $380,000.

The Columbian

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002