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MY tax dollars at work

BY Dori Monson  on February 19, 2013 @ 10:35 pm (Updated: 1:12 pm - 2/20/13 )

- Dori writes...

The unemployment rate for young people these days is through the roof. Unless mommy works for the Lake Forest Park Water District - in which case, for one family the employment rate for kids was 100 percent.

This latest taxpayer ripoff was confirmed by the state auditor on Tuesday. According to the Seattle Times:

A Lake Forest Park water-district office administrator used her teenage children to help siphon away more than $350,000 in ratepayer money over seven years, according to a state audit.

The administrator allegedly put her children on the payroll, forged receipts and kept the district's financial records in a padlocked cabinet while she was one of two full-time employees in the Lake Forest Park Water District's tiny modular office on Northeast 178th Street.

A three-member board approved her expenses and budgets for years while she charged new laminate flooring for her house and used district money for motorcycle parts, a dog kennel and college tuition, the state audit shows.

Amazingly, the women's crimes were first identified in 2011 - but she wasn't fired until Tuesday of this week. And she still isn't being named because criminal charges have not been filed.

One of the most insane fees that I personally have to pay is to this public utility. Because I have a sprinkler system in my yard, I have to pay every year to have an inspector come out to check my "backflow inhibitor." One of the most nonsense-fees ever. I guess the LFP Water District needed that money to pay for this employees kids. From the Times story:

The oldest of her three children was paid $56,351 between 2005, when he was 15, and February 2011. One time sheet was signed off for five hours, then altered to say he worked 41.5 hours.

The woman's daughter started temporary work at the water district when she was 15 and was paid $84,791 between April 2007 and January 2011.

The administrator had a water-district cellphone, but she added an extra one in 2008 and used 20,000 minutes and 300,000 text messages in two years.

Receipts revealed $99,000 in misappropriated credit-card charges. The administrator allegedly paid for her own college tuition and her daughter's and bought motorcycle- and car-stereo systems, video games, energy drinks, household furniture, groceries, wood-laminate flooring and clothing.

She also bought things for office use, took them back to the store, and then kept the refunded money, according to the report.

I will work hard on Wednesday's show to get answers on how and why this woman was allowed to rip off me and other taxpayers for so long. And why haven't criminal charges been filed yet?

Listen: Lake Forest Park water district president explains what's next

This is yet another example of how so much of government at all levels has been structured as a criminal operation designed to extract as much money as possible from all of us.

But, remember they need to raise our taxes because they've already "cut to the bone."

Dori Monson, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dori Monson is host of The Dori Monson Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays Noon-3) and the pre-game and post-game host for the Seattle Seahawks Radio Network. There are three words that Dori thinks best describe him - competitive, competitive and competitive.
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Comments (10)


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  • MittensRomney wrote...
    So thats why I pay such high rates?
    February 20, 2013 1:13 am
    First of all, Fire ALL of the board members, Audit every other similar agency.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Keitho wrote...
    Buit Dori....
    February 20, 2013 5:42 am
    Government has been cut to the bone. There is no waste or fraud. Your little backflow fee, if cut, would take food away from thousands of children, bridges would crumble, first responders would have to be cut. Think of the children first! :-)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zoeller wrote...
    This brings new meaning to-
    February 20, 2013 6:03 am
    Waste on the water or maybe Waste of the water.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Beaten Down Dead Horse wrote...
    LFP Priority - Crack down on parking.
    February 20, 2013 7:09 am
    Fines for parking your rig where you have always parked for 20 years. Flowers growing in sidewalk right of way. Red light cameras. Cracking down on tree houses. Building a 5 million dollar creek overflow tunnel with FREE Obama Cash. THOSE are LFP top priorities. Forget about daylite break-ins, crime and water dept. fraud. NO MONEY in it for them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    This is what happens when you allow the insane run the insane asylum
    February 20, 2013 8:04 am
    AKA the government workers and politicians make the rules/verify the rules/audit the rules/judge and jury. Board memebers need to be held culpable for allowing a enviroment for this to thrive.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Clearwater3 wrote...
    Tax dollars at work indeed...
    February 20, 2013 9:41 am
    ...paying for the auditors that identified the criminal activity; paying for the police investigation that will lead to charges; paying for the insurance that precludes financial risk to taxpayers. This is how government is supposed to work - yeah, the water distrtict hired a crook, but there is a system designed to deal with that - it's taxpayer funded and it works. Instead of whipping up more phony outrage, why don't you pause to thank the people working to protect you? And as far as the back-flow preventer is concerned, that's mandated by the State Department of Health not LFPWD, and its purpose is to protect the municipal water supply from accidental contamination. Given the expense involved if the city's water supply were impacted, I'd say the BFPs are a great idea
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • bigdogina4x4 wrote...
    Clearwater3....
    February 20, 2013 11:56 am
    1st thing - this is not "phony outrage". It is very real outrage. This is in-excusable, for this to take 7-8 years to fix.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Wow Clearwater3
    February 20, 2013 12:18 pm
    You must be married to this person...or you are an idiot. This is totally unacceptable. Thank the people who protect you? W. T. eF???
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Beaten Down Dead Horse wrote...
    7 years to catch & another year to fire.
    February 20, 2013 10:34 am
    & probably nothing will happen. You'd be fired and jailed instantly if you stole $50K from your private job. Good Work Local Gvnmnt!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ibedavey wrote...
    Water District
    February 20, 2013 4:10 pm
    That's called "Transparency Obama Style".
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }