FRANKLIN COUNTY, Wash.- Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond has filed a $24,999 claim to the county commissioner and auditor over a $21 meal reimbursement.
A “P Card” or “Purchasing Card” is a credit card that can be issued to an individual of any company to cover expenses during travel such as hotel accommodations and food.
According to Washington State Legislature RCW 42.24.115, political subdivisions such as Franklin County can issue a Purchasing Card to an employee.
The terms of the card are a limited budget for food and lodging (per diem). According to the Franklin County travel form, $36 is the allowed spending per dinner. Individuals who use this card are personally responsible for any excess spending.
In February 2023, Sheriff Raymond traveled for a state Criminal Justice Training hearing in the Seattle area.
During this trip, he used the office purchasing card for two dinners. He exceeded the $36 per dinner budget by $21.
On June 16 a post was made to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page which was written by Sheriff Raymond.
In this Facebook post, Sheriff Raymond makes a budgeting dispute public by describing his use of the office purchasing card and the reason for his frustration.
He also stated that the Franklin County auditing office was unlawfully attempting to seize money from his personal wages by trying to collect $21 for a business-related expense.
The next day on June 17, FCSO made another post to Facebook.
“‘Auditors’ in Washington State are among the most self-righteous, punitive bullies I have ever met,” said FCSO.
On June 18, Matt Beaton, a Franklin County Auditor, made a public Facebook post in response to Sheriff Raymond.
In this post, he states the matter was being handled internally. However, after FCSO’s posts, a response was needed.
Beaton states that there is currently a pending salary deduction for Sheriff Raymond of $21.47 and that his personal charge card has been suspended pending the resolution of missing funds.
According to the Franklin County commissioner, Sheriff Raymond personally owed $21 back to the county. If the funds were not repaid the $21 would be deducted from Sheriff Raymond’s next paycheck.
Beaton said Sheriff Raymond sent numerous emails with warnings, threats of lawsuits and even suggesting they refer the matter to the State Attorney General.
Beaton noted there was also a taunting photo and proclamations telling everyone he disagreed and had better not take action.
On June 20 the county auditor published a 101-page document that displays all email correspondence between Sheriff Raymond and county staff about this dispute as well as all legal documentation listing the terms and conditions of the purchasing card.
On May 16 an email was sent to Sheriff Raymond by Ryan Brimacombe, an Accounting Supervisor for the Franklin County Auditor’s Office.
In this email, Brimacombe states that when reviewing Sheriff Raymond’s statements he had exceeded his per diem amount by $21.47.
He then attaches a copy of the county policy stating Sheriff Raymond is responsible for these charges.
Sheriff Raymond then responds with this correspondence:
After much back and forth between the commissioners and auditors, Sheriff Raymond sends multiple emails stating, “I’m an elected official, not a county employee. The county nor its employees or other elected have the lawful authority to withdraw any amount of money out of my payroll without my express permission.”
According to RCW 42.24.115, “Any official or employee who has been issued a charge card by a municipal corporation or political subdivision shall not use the card if any disallowed charges are outstanding and shall surrender the card upon demand of the auditing officer.”
Tim Anderson, a Franklin County Auditing Supervisor, stated in an email to all parties involved that, “Unfortunately, at this point, we have inactivated the Sheriff’s Pcard and plan to recover the money owed to the County via payroll deduction during the next payroll.”
In the final email by Sheriff Raymond, it is suggested that he will now be taking this matter to court.
On June 22, Sheriff Raymond issued a press release reiterating the issue discussed and published a copy of the Claim for Damages form he has filed against the Board of County Commissioners.
Raymond’s claim says they violated his 14th amendment rights by seizure of tangible property without due process by attempting to seize the $21 owed to the county.
The claim also accuses Beaton of violating Raymond’s 1st amendment rights by restricting his “ability to speak on matters of public concern” when Beaton turned off public commenting on his Facebook post about the issue.
The claim for damage states that the amount Sheriff Raymond is seeking in damages is:
$21.74 for an Unlawful Seizure $24,977.26 for Deprivation of Civil Rights
Which amounts to a total of $24,999.00.
Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant has made a statement regarding legal representation for the case.
“The prosecuting attorneys obligation is to defend the county against all lawsuits or claims. If the Sheriff or anybody else wants to initiate a lawsuit against a county, they would need to do so with their own personal funds. The county does not fund lawsuits against itself or the taxpayers.”
