Simmesport will submit to fiscal administration after failing to address issues in its annual audits going back as far as 2007.
The mayor of Simmesport, Leslie Draper III, announced Tuesday that the town would be placed under fiscal administration after yearly audits repeatedly revealed a .
The notice stated that Simmesport is working with the Louisiana Attorney General, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, and the Louisiana Treasure to figure out how to bring the town into solvency and correct bureaucratic mismanagement.
鈥淭he town feels that this is the most appropriate course of action to ensure we can address numerous issues that have plagued us in our yearly legislative audits,鈥 he said in a prepared statement.
The fiscal administrator for the town has yet to be announced. Draper did not respond to inquiries and councilmembers said they were unable to speak without approval from the mayor, a Simmesport Town Hall employee said.
The latest financial report of the town, from 2021, shows a shaky foundation for the its 1,500 residents. Simmesport spent $93,458 more than it brought in in 2021, the report said. The auditor expressed growing concerns for future sustainability whose General Fund balance decreased by $170,000.
Simmesport's former mayor, Eric Rusk was deposed when Draper took office in 2016. Draper won reelection in 2020.
In 2019, , 鈥渨e have inherited a cesspool of ill practices. It has been a cloud over this administration since 2016.鈥
The town鈥檚 2021 audit revealed that many of the town鈥檚 problems have remained unresolved.
A fiscal administrator is needed when a town becomes financially unstable and unable to meet its current financial obligations, . A fiscal administrator is chosen by the Fiscal Review Committee, led by the Legislative Auditor, Attorney General and State Treasurer.
A official judgement is filed within 45 days of the decision and an administrator is chosen within 20 days of filing. The administrator then works to understand the town鈥檚 financial situation and obligations. They can determine if that town can file for bankruptcy and provide a three-year plan to bring the town back into financial shape. The town then votes on the recommendations.
Depending on the severity, an administrator can hold a great deal of power, including the ability to fire and hire any personnel, control budgets, and contracts, remove or grant powers of officials during fiscal emergencies and change or demolish departments.
The longest-running issue the town faces is inadequate segregation of accounting functions, which was first identified in 2007. The town does not have enough administrative staff, leading to a single employee sometimes having the responsibility of authorization, custody, recordkeeping and reconciliation, the report said. This leaves the town at a higher risk for fraud and clerical error.
The town also lacks adequate ledgers on utility accounts, an issue flagged in 2017. This means the town is likely missing out on money owed to them and customers might not be receiving proper credit for billings and deposits.
Shayne Whitmore, a lifelong Simmesport resident and creator of the Let鈥檚 Take Simmesport Back Facebook page, said he hopes the fiscal administration can put the town back on track. He voted for Draper and believed at the time he could fix problems created by Rusk.
Since then, Whitmore said, the town continues to fall into disrepair, flooding issues are not being addressed and projects are left incomplete.
In 2021, the mayor raised his pay to $38,000 a year, making him the most compensated mayor in the Avoyelles Parish, a. The largest town in the parish, Marksville, paid its mayor $500 a month as of 2021.
The report also said Simmesport might have violated the Louisiana Constitution. In 2021, utility customers鈥 account balances were adjusted without proper documentation and no town policies were established for customers to request adjustments. The report cites that funds from the town shall not be loaned, pledged or donated to any person for a public or private purpose.
The town told auditors it implemented policies to issue adjustments to customers that might be over or undercharged on utilities due to inaccuracies in meter readings, the report said, but was still considered unresolved as of 2021.
Inadequate billing is a major issue for the town, Whitmore said. The town鈥檚 largest source of income is utility fees.
In 2015, the town was told that it failed to submit audited financial statements to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. It was discovered that the town did not maintain adequate accounting records, which led to difficulty producing records to auditors. Simmesport told the state it would work to improve recordkeeping and begin to promptly provide document for yearly audits. The report claims the town was still failing to report accurate and timely documentation for audit purposes.
鈥淭hey have been on the [Louisiana] Legislative Auditor鈥檚 noncompliance list for seven years now. This can mean no grants, no state money, even if there鈥檚 a video poker machine somewhere in town, you can鈥檛 even get your share of that until you get caught up on payment,鈥 Whitmore said.
The town failed to provide adequate evidence of ticket revenues in 2021, the report said. The police department said it would implement policies to properly document ticket revenues.
Tax-delinquent properties were never advertised for sale, the report said. Leading to the town missing out on property taxes. The issue was first reported in 2017 and is still unresolved as of 2021.
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