PORT ANGELES — Democrat Mark Miloscia, a candidate for state auditor, wants to engage government employees in making their agencies more efficient.

The 30th District state representative, who has represented the Federal Way area since 1999, would institute widespread performance audits conducted by employees and using, in part, criteria contained in the Baldridge Performance Excellence Program, he said last week during a campaign visit to Port Angeles.

Miloscia, 53, was the first lawmaker in the nation selected as an auditor for the program, he said.

Baldridge Program

Run under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Baldridge Program is “a customer-focused federal change agent that enhances the competitiveness, quality, and productivity of U.S. organizations for the benefit of all citizens,” according to its website, www.nist.gov/baldrige.

The primary function of the state Auditor’s Office is the performance of annual audits of all state agencies, local governments, colleges and universities.

The position pays $116,950 a year.

State Auditor Brian Sonntag announced in 2011 that he would not seek a sixth term.

Also running for the position are Democratic 49th District state Sen. Craig Pridemore of Vancouver, Wash., and Republican James Watkins of Redmond, a business development consultant who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2010.

Performance audits

Performance audits “entail an objective and systematic examination of evidence to provide an independent assessment of the performance and management of a program against objective criteria,” according to the Government Accountability Office.

“What needs to be done is pretty simple,” Miloscia said.

“The goal is to make local governments involved in improving themselves, implementing performance management themselves, doing their own internal audits,” he said.

“The heart and soul of management is to empower and train all workers to identify their mistakes,” he added.

“I’ll hold the state Auditor’s Office to the same high standards.”

Clallam theft

He said a performance audit that included standards for ethics and behavior could have helped prevent what was the fifth-largest embezzlement of public funds between 2000 and 2010 in Washington state — and which occurred in the Clallam County Treasurer’s Office.

Miloscia said a “modest ethics program” that would have cost a few thousand dollars a year might have allowed county officials to catch the theft of from $617,467 to $795,595 between June 2003 and May 2009 by former Treasurer’s Office cashier Catherine Betts, who repeatedly stole cash from the office’s cash drawer, according to testimony at her trial.

The thefts were discovered by a Treasurer’s Office employee.

Betts, found guilty July 27 of first-degree theft, money-laundering and 19 counts of filing false and fraudulent tax returns, is serving 12 years in prison.

Her conviction has been appealed to the state Court of Appeals.

“It’s all about prevention,” Miloscia said.

“Performance audits and promoting ethics and good conduct — that will be part of my goal of making our organization the most ethical organization in the country,” he said.

No burden

Miloscia said performance audits would not create a financial burden on governments.

“Even if you spend a little money, you save money,” he said.

Miloscia and his wife Meschell, a social worker, have three children and live in Federal Way.

A Mississippi native, Miloscia was a B-52 pilot, a Department of Defense contract manager and a former commissioner of the Lakehaven Utility District before being elected to the House in 1999.

________

Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.