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Ferriday reviews audit issues
CPA Myles Hopkins told the Ferriday Town Council Tuesday night it has serious problems to address following a recent town audit.
Hopkins said the town had been losing an average of $400 per day for an extended period due to a check writing scheme involving a former town employee. He also said auditors were unable to determine what total water consumption in town is because of the meters.
Dist. Atty. Brad Burget has been asked by the Louisiana Legislative Audit Advisory Council to review the alleged check substitution scheme involving the former town employee who worked during the administration of former Ferriday Mayor Gene Allen.
Mayor Glen McGlothin told Hopkins and board members that he has answered all the questions presented by auditors and is preparing to send his response to the state legislative auditor's office.
"I know some instances where the state took a town over until they got it straight," McGlothin said. "We have put in a new accounts payable system, a new water system and new meters. We've addressed everything they've written us up for. I assure you we are doing the best we can. It's not my job to point fingers, my job is to answer to them. We are going to handle this in house. Some of the stuff was done inadvertently, but I don't think the check scheme was inadvertent."
A financial report issued by Natchez CPA Silas Simmons on February 18 criticized Allen for taking $2,917 in vacation pay on his last day in office, and criticized Allen and the town council for the payment of almost $20,000 to Harvest Baptist Church for damages in which the town had no liability, and for spending more than $800 to send Allen to a beauty pageant.
But Burget said he is only reviewing the check scheme.
Auditors ask the town to seek restitution from Allen for the vacation pay and for the Vegas trip.
The council voted 2-1 to finance the trip with aldermen Gloria Lloyd and Johnnie Brown in support and Jerome Harris voting no. Aldermen Robin Chapentier and Glenn Henderson were absent.
The audit said town should seek restitution from the Harvest Baptist Church or an insurance company for the $19,528 the town shelled out in "expenses for damages to a local church purportedly related to a back up in the town's sewer lines."
The report said the town's insurer "later determined that the town had no liability for the incident and refused to cover the town's loss."
At the April, 2008 town meeting, Allen said the problem at the church was caused from excessive rains in February and March.
Paster Charles Chandler, Joe Parker and Curtis Brown represented the church at the meeting and said they have spent close to $9,000 so far in paint repairs, replacing tile and bringing in new carpets.
Alderman Gloria Lloyd said there was one case where water got into Ferriday Senior Center and the town took care of the damages. She asked what was the difference.
McGlothin said he was not in office at that time, but said he was told that one problem with the Harvest Baptist Church situation is the fact the town began repairing the the church before the insurance company could inspect it or take pictures which made the town liable in the insurance company's views.
"We want to handle this, but without a lot of fanfare," McGlothin said. "I wasn't here then, but the town should have waited and let RMI inspect it and then they possibly would have taken care of it. Once they started work, the town became liable." |
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