Harlan Kirgan
After a review of the city’s audit, Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot said, “Looks like we’ve done really well this year considering what type of year we’ve gone through.”
Shirley Vigé, of Vigé, Tujague & Noel, presented the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30.
Vigé said he was concerned about the city’s sales tax revenue, but the collections went up.
“The city did well despite everything that is going on,” he said.
In March, COVID-19 caused disruptions to businesses, government, schools and personal lives with shutdowns and slowdowns.
The audit doesn’t cover the hurricane season, which has been active. Eunice was struck by hurricanes Laura on Aug. 27 and Delta on Oct. 9.
The audit stated total general fund revenues as of June 30 were $2.75 million and expenses were $7.6 million. The general fund was infused with $5.1 million of transfers mostly from sales taxes.
The general fund’s beginning balance was a negative $62,524 and the ending balance was $132,338. The negative balance at the beginning of the fiscal year was created when a transfer into the fund was not made until July 1, 2019.
The city’s fund total — general, sales, St. Landry and Acadia Parish Fire District and other governmental funds — had revenues of $9.6 million and expenditures of $9 million Those funds had a total beginning balance of $5.4 million and ending balance of $5.9 million.
The city sales tax fund was $5.6 million, up $321,514 from the previous year.
The recently enacted public safety tax had revenues of $345,736.
The city’s cash balance as of June 30 was $6.1 million, up $181,511 from the previous year.
The audit included three findings, which Vigé said the city management did not contest.
One finding, which carries over from year-to-year due to staffing, is an inadequate segregation of functions in the accounting system.
The audit stated, “Due to the size of the operation and the cost-benefit of additional personnel, it may not be feasible to achieve complete segregation of duties.”
A budget variance greater than 5% was found in the St. Landry and Acadia Parish Fire District Fund. Vigé said the amount was small and due to illness at the fire district. The finding is a repeat from the previous audit.
The final finding was that bank balances exceeded FDIC Insurance pledge securities from B1 Bank by $36,516. The amount is small given the $6,712,833 cash in the bank, he said.
The city is to monitor monthly to determine the adequate coverage.
The city cleared a finding from the previous audit involving the city owing the state $11,154 in sales taxes on gas sales. The city has filed all reports and begun paying the past due taxes.
The audit stated the city is filing sales tax reports on a monthly basis and paying the tax as it becomes due.
The audit reported the city paid the mayor and council a total of $96,286 annually. The mayor is paid $54,110; council members Germaine Simpson, Connie Thibodeaux, Chad Andrepont and Ernest Blanchard were each paid $7,119; and Marion Sattler, alderman at-large, was paid $13,700.
The city also paid the mayor retirement benefits of $13,073; insurance of $6,279; conference travel of $1,988; and cell phone, $606.