Eight Louisiana towns, each in a separate parish, may be on the brink of having to shut down basic operations because of significant debt, insufficient utility rates and/or loss of a major industrial taxpayer, according to the Legislative Auditor’s Office.
Additionally, four municipalities, are facing serious concerns of operation of their rural water infrastructure systems. One of those is facing the double whammy of concerns about both ongoing operations and about its rural water system.
The 11 are among 18 considered by the state auditor’s office as being “fiscally distressed municipalities, including three whose latest financial statements indicate a negative fund balance.
Those over which the auditor’s office issued a concern for ongoing operations and their parishes include:
- Grambling (Lincoln);
- Tallulah (Madison);
- Baldwin (St. Mary);
- Basile (Evangeline);
- Lake Providence (East Carroll);
- Newellton (Tensas);
- Washington (St. Landry), and
- Epps (West Carroll).
Baldwin was also among four municipalities about which concerns were raised over rural water infrastructure committees. Others with rural water infrastructure concerns were:
- Melville (St. Landry);
- Tullos (LaSalle), and
- Powhatan (Natchitoches).
Vidalia in Concordia, Winnsboro in Franklin, and Waterproof in Tensas were also flagged over concerns that their latest financial statements indicate a negative fund balance, or deficit.
Additionally, auditors could not issue an opinion for the most recent year for LeCompte in Rapides Parish and a fiscal review committee is monitoring the town of Clinton in East Feliciana Parish.
The auditor’s office was unable to issue an opinion for the most recent year for the towns of Ball in Rapides Parish and Jonesboro in Jackson Parish.
Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera said the purpose of the list was to provide the public and elected officials at the state and local levels notice of the municipalities’ financial plights so that remedial measures could be undertaken.
“Our goal is to work with each municipality’s elected officials and to provide recommendations to place the municipality on a path to fiscal stability,” the Baton Rouge Business Report quoted Purpera as saying.
Perhaps those towns should not have incorporated in the first place; apparently there is insufficient tax base to provide municipal services and support the bureaucracy.
A thought-provoking suggestion, Zoe.