Louisiana Legislative Auditor
Daryl G. Purpera, CPA, CFE

February 29, 2016

Village of Bonita Audit Finds Payroll Fraud, Discrepancies in Court Fines, Water and Sewer Revenues

An independent audit of the Village of Bonita released today showed that between July 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, the former village clerk paid herself seven weeks of vacation/sick time in addition to her weekly paychecks. She also paid herself $113 per week above her approved salary on three occasions. The payments totaled $16,087, or $4,387 more than the clerk was supposed to receive for that time period.

The audit was conducted by the independent CPA firm Hill, Inzina & Company for the Legislative Auditor.

Besides the overpayments to the former clerk, the auditor reported discrepancies related to the village’s court fines and water and sewer revenues. For example, the auditor calculated that the village should have received approximately $115,400 from court fines in fiscal year 2015, but the actual revenue was $93,229. In addition, water and sewer fees totaling $85,000 to $89,000 should have been collected, but revenues totaled $73,397.

The audit also noted that the village spent $76,795 more than the $130,085 it had budgeted in its General Fund for fiscal year 2015 and failed to amend its 2015 budget to reflect the change, which is a violation of the Local Government Budget Act. In addition, $17,600 of the village's restricted tax revenues were used for the operation of the water and sewer system, and $4,188 of restricted tax revenues were used for the general operations of the village. These revenues are restricted for debt service obligations of the village.

Other findings pertained to inadequate segregation of duties related to the village’s financial operations, inadequate purchase procedures, and failure to report traffic violations to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, as required by law.

Many of the findings were repeated from previous audits conducted under a prior administration. Officials with the current administration indicated they are working to change and improve the village’s financial operations.

For more information contact:

Legislative Auditor
225.339.3800



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Office of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor | www.LLA.La.gov