Just some two months after being appointed the new Winlock treasurer at the end of July, Michelle Francis has resigned from the position.
In a Sept. 27 email, Francis explained she did not make the decision “lightly.”
“I accepted the treasurer position in good faith and with the intention of contributing my experience and helping the city strengthen its financial operations. Since beginning my employment on Aug. 1, 2026, I have identified numerous discrepancies involving financial records, fund balances, payroll, vendor payments, payroll taxes, leave and compensation payments and other financial transactions,” Francis said in an excerpt from her resignation letter.
In the letter, she took issue with a solution Winlock Mayor Victoria Marincin posed to help with one of the issues — using a GAAP, or generally acceptable accounting procedure, to create a holding account to reconcile an unaccounted iCloud fee for processing residents’ utility payments.
“I cannot ethically or morally create invoices without backup just to reconcile the bank accounts. To reconcile efficiently, it would take time tracking down invoices, and documentation for back up and I have significant concerns about being expected to accomplish this work without established processes, adequate written procedures, sufficient training, appropriate separation of duties and additional professional or staffing resources,” Francis wrote.
She also took issue with being asked to assume some of the city clerk duties as former Winlock City Clerk Maureen Crabtree has also recently left her position. Her full resignation letter can be found at the end of this story.
Marincin met with The Chronicle earlier this week to discuss the vacancies and Francis’ accusations.
“We know, almost 99.9%, that (payment) is the iCloud fee, but it varies every month … based on how many people use the iCloud and what their bills were. We all agreed that it was probably that, but we did not have 100%” Marincin said. “So I just wanted to put it in a holding account so we could do the reconciliation. And we’re not just trying to reconcile bank accounts, we’re trying to come to a beginning balance. We have not had a beginning balance in the City of Winlock for many years.”
As for Crabtree’s resignation, Marincin declined to go in depth on the issue and stated, “I just wish Maureen well in her new endeavors."
Marincin thanked Winlock Assistant City Clerk Lily Niles for stepping up to help recently in the midst of both Crabtree and Francis’ resignations, though luckily for Niles, she might have more help herself with the duties soon.
“She is sharp as a tack,” Marincin said.
Marincin added there is currently draft a interlocal agreement (ILA) with the City of Vader for help with clerk services, and another ILA the City of Toledo for treasurer help.
While the Toledo City Council has yet to vote on approval of the ILA, the ILA with the Vader was approved by the Vader City Council during its regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Aside from needing approval by both of Winlock’s South Lewis County neighbors, the Winlock City Council itself still has yet to vote on the ILAs.
Francis' full resignation letter is as follows:
“Please accept this email as my formal resignation from my position as Treasurer for the City of Winlock, effective immediately.”
“This decision has not been made lightly. I accepted the treasurer position in good faith and with the intention of contributing my experience and helping the city strengthen its financial positions. Since beginning my employment on August 1, 2026, I have identified numerous discrepancies involving financial records, fund balances, payroll, vendor payments, payroll taxes, leave and compensation payments and other financial transactions. When I arrived, I was handed over $14,000 in payroll overpayments for numerous employees without a policy or procedure on how to notify employee of the overpayment as well as what options are available to re-pay the overpayment. Vendors were overpaid, underpaid and some not paid at all. IRS is billing the city taxes from 2021 with penalties and interest. Q2 taxes were filed incorrectly at the end of June 2026. I have also become aware of long-standing audit and internal-control concerns that require substantial review, reconciliation, documentation, and corrective action. I know you mentioned that I should create invoices for anomaly debits without back up and when I have time, research them later. I cannot ethically or morally create invoices for anomaly debits without back up just to reconcile bank accounts. To reconcile efficiently, it would take time tracking down invoices, and documentation for back up and I have significant concerns about the expectation that I assume the responsibilities of interim clerk while simultaneously performing my duties as treasurer and attempting to learn and stabilize the city’s financial systems. The combined responsibilities are not reasonably sustainable for one individual, particularly for a newly appointed treasurer who is still learning the city’s systems while attempting to identify and reconcile historical financial issues.”
“The city needs a structure that provides appropriate oversight, review, accountability and segregation of financial responsibilities rather than placing multiple critical functions on one individual. My resignation should not be interpreted as a lack of willingness to work or a lack of commitment to the city. Rather, it is a recognition that the circumstances and resources currently available do not provide a reasonable or sustainable environment in which I can perform these responsibilities to the standard that the city and its citizens deserve.”
“The city should establish written policies and procedures, appropriate internal controls, separation of duties and clearly defined responsibilities before expecting one employee to resolve years of accumulated financial issues. I am providing this notice so that the mayor, city council and city hall staff have a clear understanding of the reasons for my resignation. I believe it is important to document these concerns rather than leave without explaining the circumstances that led to my decision. You should anticipate and expect payroll corrections and adjustments needed for some employees due to the lack of a second audit.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have served the City of Winlock and for the people I have had the opportunity to work with during my time here. I sincerely hope the city can address these issues, establish stronger financial controls and procedures, obtain the resources necessary to reconcile historical records, and create a sustainable structure for its financial operations going forward.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the City of Winlock.”
