St. M’ville audit encouraging

The nervously-anticipated 2019 independent audit for the city was delivered at the Monday, Feb. 10 city council meeting, and it was better than many had hoped. Burton Kolder and Brian Joubert, of Kolder, Slaven and Co., described the report’s findings in detail. While they did explain a fair number of “findings” or faults, the audit determined that the bottom-line basics of the city’s finances are sound. The level of concern at city hall was fairly high due to a spate of accounting problems that had surfaced during the six-month term of Shedrick Berard as chief administrative officer. The audit was delayed while new CAO Avis Gutekunst and accountants from the consulting firm Faulk and Winkler put enough of the accounts in order to allow a reliable examination. “You should all be very pleased,” Kolder commented before he began his description of the city’s basic financial state. An overall utility account operating loss of just over $127,000, he said, was much better than it could have been. It is quite reasonable in a city with a budget of over $10 million that had been through such a tumultuous period. Kolder said that rigid spending controls and recent increases in the profitability of the electric system offset losses in the sewer and water accounts to keep the bottom line operating loss within a reasonable range. The auditor cautioned that more increases in electric rates are still in order and the city should consider instituting an annual increase keyed to the Consumer Price Index. He also recommended a slightly more proactive depreciation allowance in the utility equipment. Joubert further explained the audit’s findings, pointing out that the number of reported faults, at 13, was lower than the 19 that was initially expected. He said that many of the findings were addressed during and since the audit investigation. There were 11 “internal control” findings and two compliance findings. In the internal control category, Joubert said that, in some cases, the city failed to reconcile accounts in a proper and timely manner. A failure to reconcile accounts with the ledger at the end of each day had resulted in too much dependance on memory. The report also found inadequate controls over occupational license fees, utility late fees, fines, employee time sheets customer utility deposits, Public Works equipment, and materials inventories, as well as capital assets. In some cases, Joubert reported, city ledgers did not agree with bank records and supporting documentation was missing or difficult to locate. The compliance findings included an inadequacy in timeliness of filing of financial reports and accounting for utility fees as required with the state. Gutekunst told the Teche News that remedies for all the shortcomings that have not already been addressed are in the works now. In other business: •The council approved a plan offered by the Garden Club to focus attention and support for efforts to preserve the Evangeline Oak. •Approved the scheduling of the Acadian Memorial Festival on Saturday, March 21. •Appointed Bryson Mestayer as manager of the city swimming pool for the coming season. •Approved a request by Mary Guirard to hold the second annual Women’s March on Saturday, March 21, starting at the Evangeline Oak at 1 p.m. •Approved amendments to the yard waste burning ordinance, easing restrictions to the activity. •Declared the Sunday before Mardi Gras as Newcomer’s Club Day.