Elizabeth Hinkel wants people to know the Schuylkill Conservation District has nothing to hide with respect to the probe of alleged financial irregularities in the agency.
"The conservation district wants to be open about the situation," Hinkel, the agency's district manager, said Thursday.
Furthermore, Hinkel and the district's board of directors said in a statement prepared Tuesday that they always have tried to keep the county informed about their finances.
"SCD has always strived for transparency and has always had an open line of communication with (the county)," the statement reads in part.
Hinkel and the board issued their statements after county Controller Christy Joy announced June 12 that Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the district concerning alleged financial irregularities involving accounting and internal controls.
No charges have been filed against anyone and the investigation is continuing.
Hinkel said Thursday that the district has refrained from saying anything in order not to interfere with the investigation.
She also said the money allegedly involved appears to be district-administered, meaning funds provided by the state and federal governments, not the county.
Authorities have not been able to say how much, if any, money has been taken.
In Tuesday's statement, the district said Hinkel and another unidentified staff member were reviewing files May 30 when they discovered what appeared to be fraudulent signatures in folders that appeared to document fraudulent activity. Hinkel reviewed this information, along with bank statements and canceled checks, and contacted County Administrator Mark J. Scarbinsky that day.
The district said Hinkel met with county officials June 2, the day the state police were contacted. She met with police June 4, the day Joy requested a copy of the 2012 audit report and sent the controller that copy June 5, according to the district.
Joy has said the alleged embezzlement would have been prevented if the district had properly addressed concerns raised in the 2012 audit report.
In Tuesday's statement, the district said its own staff members discovered the suspected embezzlement and that it has added more stringent internal controls over expenditures. Most notably, Hinkel now reviews and signs all invoices, according to the district.
"Immediately following the receipt of the 2012 findings, the SCD began implementing the necessary internal controls," the statement reads in part.
Controls now are as stringent as they can be in light of the size of the staff, according to the district.