Audit Cites Village of Forest Hill with 22 Findings

Auditors cited the Rapides Parish village of Forest Hill with 22 findings on a range of issues, including possible misuse of public funds, and gave the municipality a qualified opinion because of “clerical deficiencies” in the handling of traffic ticket fines, according to the report made public Monday by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

The audit, conducted by the accounting firm of Rozier, Harrington and McKay of Alexandria, said that the former clerk made three personal charges on a village credit card totaling $90.85 and also received $424.20 for “an additional payment in excess of her authorized wage.” The clerk, who was not identified in the report, has been dismissed and has made restitution for the $515.05.

The qualification of the auditor’s opinion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, resulted from a lack of “documentation to support some of the amounts reported as revenues from fines and court costs,” the report said.

Without citing specific amounts, the report said the village purchased flowers for ill or deceased citizens; bought alcohol with village funds; donated money to a nonprofit organization; and bought meals for a village Christmas party, as well as “numerous meals that did not have a specific allowable business purpose identified.” The report pointed out all of those expenditures are violations of the state Constitution.

Auditors cited Forest Hill officials for not accurately billing natural gas customers, resulting in $30,000 of unbilled revenues. It also said that village employees who worked at the annual Nursery Festival were not paid through the regular payroll system, and payroll taxes were not withheld.

Some of the other findings in the report for the state auditor included: a village check cleared the bank without any signature; a lack of controls in tracking employee vacation and sick leave, which allowed an employee to be paid for vacation time that was not earned; and salary increases for the clerk and police chief were not adopted by village ordinance.

The village also paid sales taxes on some purchases that were exempt and saw an increase in the number of utility bills more than 20 days past due. The report noted that “some employees are slow to pay. The village should strictly enforce cutoff procedures for all utility customers.”