UPDATE: We have a response to the audit from a member of the town's Board of Aldermen.
"Citizens of Grand Coteau, as I review the issues regarding Grand Coteau's finances, I am shocked to see what is on the list, truthfully," says a statement from Alderman Devin Thomas. "The board members were never given this audit by the auditors, nor were the Mayor and administration. We found out about it on the news. We have a town hall meeting tomorrow, April 8, 2025, at 6 p.m. Please come with your concerns, as our audit will be the top priority at tomorrow night's meeting so we can move forward and correct the things that need to be done. Citizens of Grand Coteau, Louisiana, I apologize for the inconvenience."
We also reached out to the Mayor, but haven't heard back yet.
As we reported earlier today, auditors have reported more than a dozen findings in their review of Grand Coteau finances.
Seven of them are new, but seven are left over from previous years, auditors wrote. Two findings from previous years were resolved. You can read the whole audit for yourself by scrolling down. The town's management says they are putting corrective action plans and new policies in place to address the issues the auditor found.
One of the big notes was about the town's utilities: the Town’s Gas, Water, and Sewer funds have posted operating losses and the auditor says the town should consider either raising utility rates or decreasing expenses. The auditor noted other issues with bookkeeping and policy in the town's utility operations.
Here's the list; the auditor found the Town:
- Did not have adequate segregation of functions within its accounting system
- Did not have proper controls in place over its personnel files
- Did not have proper controls in place over its employee leave records
- Did not have written policies and procedures for budgeting, receipts/collections, payroll processing, contracting, credit card use, travel and expense reimbursements, ethics, debt service, capital asset management, and traffic ticket safeguards.
- Failed to reconcile its interfund receivables and payables, utility receivables, meter deposits liabilities, and cash accounts in a regular and timely manner
- Failed to follow its policies and procedures for past-due utility accounts, including charging late fees and cutting off service.
- Failed to pay its vendors in a timely manner, which resulted in late fees and finance charges
- Failed to remit state withholding taxes, submit state sales taxes, file state unemployment reports, and submit federal tax returns in a timely manner, which resulted in the assessment of penalties and interest charges
- Failed to publish minutes for all of its public meetings within the required time period and failed to hold a meeting of its governing board at least once every month, as required by law
- Failed to amend its TIF District Fund budget when total expenditures exceeded budgeted expenditures by more than 5%
- Failed to remit all court-specific fees in a timely manner
- Failed to file its audit report with the Legislative Auditor’s office within the required time frame
And, the auditor found that hours reflected on employee pay stubs did not always match the hours recorded in the electronic timekeeping system.
The audit includes responses from the town's management, in which they say they will "implement policies to ensure compliance" with the various laws and policies that weren't followed.
Here's the full audit report:
