Follow-up Audit Finds St. Tammany Recreation District Did Not Make Recommended Changes

Officials with St. Tammany Parish Recreation District No. 4 did not implement numerous recommendations made in a September 2016 LLA report that investigated unusual transactions and examined the District’s internal financial and operational controls, the Legislative Auditor said in a follow-up report released today.

While District officials did set up better controls over credit cards and were able to provide a copy of the budget, auditors found problems still exist in several areas, the state auditor said.

Auditors found that documentation and receipts were unavailable for some credit/debit card purchases, and monthly statements showed no evidence of review for reasonableness before payments were made.

In addition, District officials did not fully develop their own comprehensive detailed written policies and procedures to govern critical operational areas such as travel, employee time sheets and related supervisory review, contracting for services, and monitoring of capital assets, all of which were recommended in last year’s report.

Auditors noted, too, that the District still lacked clearly defined roles and responsibilities for board members and the director and a “Code of Conduct” for board members and staff.

Officials also failed to adopt the District’s budget by resolution, prepare a signed budget message, or provide a budget statement showing a beginning-of-the-year fund balance, anticipated revenue, recommended expenditures, and an estimated end-of-the-year fund balance as required by the Local Government Budget Act. In addition, board minutes were not maintained or published in the official journal, and the District’s website was not updated with the most current ordinances, resolutions, and budget documents.

Auditors also found that the District director did not fill out a time sheet for November 2016, which was the month they examined, and that there was no documentation of supervisory review or approval for those employee time sheets that were tested.