Washington County’s sewer board has vowed to enhance transparency and accountability after an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive highlighted extravagant spending at the public agency.
However, officials are still withholding information on the total amount spent on Hawaii trips by sewer executives over the past decade.
The Oregonian/OregonLive’s previous reports revealed that Clean Water Services spent significantly more on dining than two of its metro area counterparts combined in a five-year period.
Additionally, it was reported that sewer officials have traveled to Hawaii for annual insurance board meetings and conferences at upscale resorts.
The expenses from the Hawaii trips for the years 2019, 2022, and 2023 totaled almost $91,000, indirectly borne by ratepayers.
The 2023 trip alone accumulated costs nearing $42,000, which included first-class airfare and a high-end hotel room for the agency’s CEO, a decision made under the Americans with Disabilities Act provisions.
Notably, the costs associated with four other trips to Hawaii remain undisclosed because the records are held by an insurance subsidiary established by Clean Water Services in 2016 and registered in Hawaii.
Officials have consistently referred inquiries about the Hawaii trips to the insurance company, which has declined to provide details or has not responded to requests for information regarding the 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2024 trips, asserting that it is not subject to Oregon’s public records laws.
In light of The Oregonian/OregonLive’s investigation, agency officials recognized the necessity to rebuild public trust, stating their commitment to the “values of openness and transparency.”
Commissioner Pam Treece, a member of the Clean Water Services board, expressed the importance of adhering to these values.
Clean Water Services CEO Diane Taniguchi-Dennis agreed with the board’s oversight measures aimed at bolstering transparency and accountability.
Despite the agency’s promises for increased transparency, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s recent outreach to the boards of both Clean Water Services and the Clean Water Insurance Company, requesting details on the Hawaii trips, went unanswered.
Ratepayers continue to seek clarity regarding the overall cost of these trips.
Tualatin City Manager Sherilyn Lombos expressed her disappointment, stating it is disconcerting and troubling that the agency is unwilling to provide the public with these records.
She emphasized that public trust is at stake, and a lack of willingness to release information could be perceived as an attempt to hide something.
In an email dated April 10, Paul Shimomoto, legal counsel for the insurance company, directed all questions to him rather than individual board members, maintaining that the insurance company “takes seriously” the oversight measures requested by the sewer board, including the implementation of a new travel policy.
However, Shimomoto did not address the request for the costs associated with the four Hawaii trips.
He did provide records for three previous trips, despite asserting the company was not obliged to comply with public records requests.
Shimomoto later indicated that records for the 2024 trips remained “in the reconciliation process” and avoided questions related to previous trips raised since February.
The ongoing lack of disclosure follows calls for transparency from city managers and the county auditor, who have urged the sewer agency to make these records public.
Tualatin’s city manager also represents one of 15 members on the advisory commission for Clean Water Services.
During a recent commission meeting, she presented a statement on behalf of city managers from 12 Washington County cities receiving sewer services from Clean Water Services.
The statement included a request for the agency to hire a third-party auditor to review its spending practices and to ensure transparency in line with Oregon’s public records obligations, regardless of the location of the insurance company.
Other advisory commission members echoed these sentiments, demanding clarity regarding the insurance company’s expenses, specifically the reported general and administrative costs of $315,575 for the year ending last June.
Clean Water Services is recognized as the second-largest sewer agency in Oregon, offering wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and watershed enhancement to approximately 610,000 residents in Washington County.
The agency primarily relies on service charges collected from ratepayers, expecting nearly $187 million in revenues this fiscal year, following a recent rate increase of 4%.
The insurance subsidiary predominantly receives its funding from premiums paid by Clean Water Services.
Despite its claims of being an independent entity subject only to Hawaii’s legal framework, board documents indicate that the insurance company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clean Water Services, with a board mostly composed of agency executives.
The board includes Taniguchi-Dennis, Caroline Lobdell (the utility’s general counsel), Jack Liang (chief business operations officer), Kathleen Leader (chief financial officer), and Roy Rogers (former Washington County commissioner).
Legal expert Steven Wilker, who specializes in public records law, raised concerns regarding the assertion that the insurance company’s travel expenditures are exempt from Oregon public records laws.
He pointed out that since the insurance company operates as a member-managed LLC with Clean Water Services as its sole member, it operates under its authority.
Wilker asserted that this structure gives Clean Water Services control over the records from its own insurance company, stating, “In this case, nothing I’ve heard or seen would suggest to me that the district doesn’t have control over the records of its insurer.”
Kathryn Harrington, the chair of the Clean Water Services board, previously expressed her discomfort regarding the Hawaii expenditures and the subsequent loss of public trust.
However, she maintained that she could not influence the financial decisions of the insurance company, clarifying it as a separate entity governed by its own board.
Neither Harrington nor her fellow board members have publicly demanded that the Clean Water Services employees who are part of the insurance board ensure full disclosure of the Hawaii trip expenses.
Washington County resident Nancy Hoover voiced her concerns about the agency’s spending practices and their relationship with the insurance subsidiary.
After examining The Oregonian/OregonLive’s reports, she expressed disappointment over the perceived lack of oversight from the Washington County commissioners.
Hoover remarked, “Inside that agency, there’s a lack of transparency and they don’t seem to care.”
In response to the revelations stemming from The Oregonian/OregonLive’s reporting, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission has initiated a preliminary review of officials at Clean Water Services, following the receipt of at least ten complaints regarding the agency’s financial practices.
One resident from Beaverton expressed concern about the agency’s reluctance to provide relevant documents to the press, questioning whether this was an effort to conceal personal benefit derived from public office.
A resident from Tigard criticized the agency’s spending, saying it demonstrated a lack of controls, judgment, and care at Clean Water Services, describing the board overseeing the captive insurance entity as benefiting from a degree of opacity.
Washington County Auditor Kristine Adams-Wannberg encouraged the sewer agency to publicly disclose the Hawaii trip details, irrespective of any legal obligations to do so.
In an interview, she acknowledged some positive steps taken by the sewer board to enhance oversight, which included revoking company credit cards from executives and implementing a new travel policy, also encouraging the insurance company to adopt similar measures.
Despite these improvements, Adams-Wannberg expressed concern that an upcoming audit might not be truly independent as it is overseen by the agency’s general counsel.
She questioned whether any actionable plans were in place to foster long-term accountability and cultural shifts within the agency.
Stressing that accountability should commence with a firm commitment to transparency, she stated, “The board has made some statements, I think they were very good and worthy statements, but it’s about the follow-up.”
If the records remain undisclosed, she warned, it may lead the public to doubt the sincerity behind the agency’s commitments.
image source from：https://www.oregonlive.com/watchdog/2025/04/troubling-and-disappointing-washington-county-sewer-agency-continues-to-shield-key-info-about-hawaii-trips.html
