Coupeville Councilman Bob Clay said he was very surprised by the news of a criminal investigation based on the audit of Island Transit.

Clay, the chairman of the Island Transit board, noted that the auditors emphasized that they did not identify any misappropriation of funds.

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks said Monday that the Washington State Patrol agreed to conduct a criminal investigation into “certain conduct” described in an audit report of Island Transit.

Banks said the investigation will look into “irregularities in compensation” described in the recently released report from the state Auditor’s Office. He said he didn’t want to be too specific because the investigation may be larger in scope.

The accountability audit largely focused on Martha Rose, the former executive director of Island Transit. The auditors said they found discrepancies between Rose’s calendar and her vacation leave balance.

Banks said State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized the investigation, but he hasn’t discussed it with detectives yet and doesn’t know the timeline.

Banks and Island County Sheriff Mark Brown decided it would be best if an outside agency conducted the investigation because of the potential that a conflict of interest. Island Transit’s board of directors is composed of elected officials from the county and the three municipalities on the island.

Banks said his decision to seek a criminal investigation wasn’t in response to any pressure from politicians or residents, though some have called for just such an investigation.

Banks said Island County Commissioner Aubrey Vaughan was the first person who, months ago, brought to his attention potential problems at Island Transit. Banks said he opted to wait until results of the audit were released to make any decisions about a criminal investigation.

“I’ve been following the investigation from the start,” he said.

The report states that Rose’s calendar shows she was on vacation for four weeks in 2013 and three weeks in 2014, but only six days of leave were deducted from her leave balance from August 2012 to September 2014.

In addition, her calendar showed Rose attended a conference for 16 days in April 2013 when flight records showed she was only in the same city as the conference for four days.

Her calendar showed she was at a conference for 19 days in September 2013 when flight records indicate she was only in the same city as the conference for five day

In a final payout, Rose was compensated for unused vacation and sick leave.