Town of St. Joseph Removed from Legislative Auditor's Noncompliance List, Can Access Water System Repair Funds

The Town of St. Joseph has been removed from the Legislative Auditor’s noncompliance list, the state auditor announced today. St. Joseph had been placed on the list after failing to submit its fiscal year 2015 audit within the statutorily required deadline.

State law requires that every governmental entity prepare and submit an audit or report on its financial operations to the Legislative Auditor within 6 months of the close of its fiscal year. St. Joseph’s 2015 fiscal year ended on June 30, 2015, and its audit was due by December 31, 2015.

With its placement on the noncompliance list, the Town was unable to access approximately $8.3 million in grants and other funding to repair the municipal water system. The state Department of Health and Hospitals has cited the Town for several violations related to the water system, and residents have complained repeatedly about the water’s color and odor.

On June 6, 2016, the Legislative Auditor released the results of an independent CPA’s examination of the Town’s 2015 financial statements. The independent auditor declined to issue an opinion on the statements because officials could not provide the necessary accounting records and supporting documentation. The same day, a fiscal administrator was appointed to take over management of the Town’s finances.

After submitting an initial plan to the Legislative Auditor to help the Town improve and stabilize its financial operations, the fiscal administrator asked that St. Joseph be taken off the noncompliance list, and the state auditor agreed.