(The Center Square) — A recent audit report showed the town of Melville is still experiencing financial hardship after four years of losses.
“The town has experienced significant operating losses over the past four fiscal years,” the auditor’s report said. “The town’s utility system doesn’t feature meters at most residences, and many sections of the utility system cannot be cut off individually, which has made utility theft rampant.”
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor released a report that detailed many financial shortcomings for the town, including non-payment of all required payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
The town also did not keep adequate documentation, according to the report, to reconcile underlying meter deposit liability to individual account balances. Many elected officials with past-due accounts were found after not enforcing a uniform cutoff policy for non-payment of utilities.
The town has reportedly received large federal grants to assist with issues, but the auditor said, “The town’s financial position is rapidly deteriorating.”
This is not the first audit showing troubles for the town. Back in 2022, reports showed many town officials owed the federal government for payroll taxes. The previous audit specified 10 findings for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2020. Five of those findings were repeated from previous audits.
According to the report, the town’s net position decreased by $9,746 from governmental activities due to an increase in public safety expenses. Business-type activities also decreased the net position by over $134,000 from transfers to support governmental activities.
The audit statement of activities showed general government expenses at $486,302, with public safety expenses totaling $232,988. The total expenses for all governmental activities were $733,678.
To rectify these issues, the town plans to add an additional sales tax to the election ballot, an additional property tax and will try to reduce departmental spending. Many of the findings were reported to have happened under different administration.
