UPDATE: Jonesboro Mayor Responds to State Investigative Report on Town
By: Staff
Updated: March 19, 2013
JONESBORO -- State auditors are keeping a close eye on the the town of Jonesboro.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office has released its investigative report, saying the town has not completed an audit for four years in a row and that mayor Leslie Thompson may have violated state law.
But Mayor Leslie Thompson is speaking out against some of the findings saying they're taking this to court.
In October, the auditor's office confiscated several computers and hard-drives after the town's state-appointed fiscal administrator quit. The report was complete in January, but wasnt released until Monday morning.
Some additional findings in the report include:
Noncompliance with Local Government Budget Act Town Improperly Provided Insurance and Other Employee Benefits to Ineligible Individuals Town Improperly Paid Retirement Contributions for Ineligible Employees Personal Use of Town Vehicle by Mayor Mayor Failed to Timely Reimburse Town for Unused Travel Advances Town Failed to Remit Unclaimed Property to the State
But assistant state legislative auditor Allen Brown says the main issue is the town not filing an audit in the last four years.
"The CPA has had to say, 'I can't issue an opinion because I could not apply sufficient audit procedures to the records or the records were in such disarray I couldn't audit them,'" he said.
The report says different CPA's were hired each year, but each could only give a disclaimer -- meaning they couldn't understand the books to finalize the audit.
"A disclaimer does not mean a completed audit. If you continually refuse to put the right people in place so that you can't get an audit, that's how it would continue," said Brown.
But Jonesboro mayor Leslie Thompson says he doesn't agree with the report's findings.
"They say that when it comes to special revenue, that they could not see, and if we had done it this way, or the way they say then it would have been easier to understand," said Thompson. "I understand that, but if we are operating within the confines of the law, that should be good enough."
"They have a job to do, they've done their job," he said. "They seem to not be able to recognize the progress the town has made, they continue to talk about the violation of the budget law. We know that violations they're talking about happened in 2010, so at what point do we get beyond that?"
Thompson says to his understanding, nothing illegal has occurred in the town and nothing has been misappropriated.
"The town of Jonesboro has actually done the budget like we found the method to be before we came, there was no problem then, so we ask, why is it such a problem now?" he said. "What is it we can do to satisfy the folks who are constantly coming after us, asking us to do this and do that. We have done all we know to do and now i guess we'll have to go to court."
Mayor Thompson says the town is sending a complaint form to the U.S. Justice Department for feeling harassed and discriminated by the auditor's office.
"It's a desire on someone's part to not accept the fact that I'm here in this office and we would really like to get beyond that," he said.
The state auditor's office says they've applied every enforcement within their power, putting Jonesboro on the non-compliance list.
"The funds passing through from the state are frozen. They cannot receive them," Brown said.
"It's so unfortunate because who is really suffering are the people of Jonesboro," said Thompson. "People have not benefited from certain grants, this keeps us on the noncompliance list. It's like a perfect storm that they've created, that we can't get out of."
In February, mayor Thompson was arrested for malfeasance in office -- charges he plead not guilty on. Brown says when those charges go to court, the report may be used to pursue those issues.
"I see the report as a town in trouble and it needs to take some affirmative action to correct their records," Brown said.
The Town of Jonesboro did respond to the accusations made in the report by stating in the report, "The town disagrees with finding and reserves its right to respond until such time that would be more suitably appropriate."
The Town of Jonesboro did respond to the accusations made in the report by stating in the report, "The town disagrees with finding and reserves its right to respond until such time that would be more suitably appropriate."
"It's unfortunate that we find ourselves going to court on what they now have tried to raise to a criminal level," Thompson said.
State auditor officials say the attorney general and state treasurer may appoint another fiscal administrator to the town.
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