A recent audit of the town of Basile’s finances has resulted in a proposal by the state’s legislative auditor to meet with the town’s mayor, police chief, and mayor pro-tempore to discuss long term and short options to remedy the town’s financial shortfalls.
In a letter addressed to Mayor Mark Denette and Chief of Police Allen Ivory, Jr., the legislative auditor, Eric Sloan, said, “The audit shows that revenue and expenditure trends in the current and prior two fiscal years (2017 and 2018) show that the Town cannot sustain its current operations with available funding.”
The auditor’s letter also stated, “Our projections indicate that the Town will run out of cash next month (February 2019), if all bills are paid by the Town as they become due. We estimate that the Town needs an additional $15,750 per month ($189,000 annually) stabilize its current operations and begin to eliminate its cash flow problems.”
“This can be accomplished by either cutting expenditures, raising revenue, or doing a combination of both. The long-term viability of the Town hinges on these actions.”
The letter continued, “We are concerned that police department expenditures have exceeded budgeted amounts in 2017 (by $110,000) and 2018 (by $107,000), and appears to be on track to overspend its budget again in 2019.”
“In 2018, had the police department stayed within its budget, the Town would only need an additional $6,800 per month ($82,000 annually),” stated the auditor.
The mayor and police chief planned to discuss the audit with the legislative auditor today.
