Between July 2020 and June 2024, Washington’s government expenditures totaled around $3.3 million. More than $1 million of those expenditures were unauthorized or fraudulent, according to the audit report released Wednesday.
“This is the worst example of board oversight I have seen in my 29 years of government auditing experience,” State Auditor Cindy Byrd said in a statement.
Most of the misspent money was spent by former town clerk and treasurer Susan Noel, the audit found. Between 2020 and 2024, Noel allegedly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars toward personal credit card payments, her mortgage and utilities, and other personal transactions. Those include nearly $26,000 of Amazon purchases, a $1500 puppy from a doodle breeder and about $30,000 in “dog-related expenditures” over Venmo…