State audit of Homer finds undeposited utility cash, unpaid payroll taxes and spending without council approval

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor released an investigative audit of the Town of Homer on Monday, Nov. 9, KTBS and the Minden Press-Herald reported. Both outlets say the report found undeposited utility cash, unpaid payroll taxes and more than $1 million in federal pandemic relief money spent without a council-approved budget. We could not find the report PDF on the Legislative Auditor’s public site as of midday Monday, so the figures below are attributed to those outlets’ coverage of the audit.

The audit followed concerns raised after a state-appointed fiscal administrator took over town operations in July 2024, both outlets reported.

What auditors found

• Utility cash not deposited: $16,769 in cash collected for utilities from March to August 2024 never made it into the town’s bank account. The town treasurer received each day’s collections and prepared the deposits, and auditors counted 19 times the deposit came up short of the cash collected, according to KTBS (the Press-Herald did not report that count).
• Credits to the treasurer’s landlord: 11 credits totaling $4,475 went to the personal and business utility accounts of the treasurer’s landlord from July 2022 to March 2024, with no matching payments in town records.
• Customer deposits used for payroll: $81,869 was moved from customer utility deposits into the payroll account in December 2021 and June 2022. Those deposits belong to customers, not the town. The mayor told auditors she did not remember a specific conversation about it but did remember saying the transfer could be done, KTBS reported.
• Rate increase without a vote: The mayor raised water and sewer rates without a public hearing or council approval. The town billed an extra $100,935 under the higher rates from May 2024 until they were revoked in August 2024, according to KTBS (not in the Press-Herald’s account).
• Pay above the approved salary: The treasurer received $88,056 in salary and overtime above her council-approved pay from Jan. 17, 2019, to Nov. 26, 2024. The mayor told auditors she approved one raise and the treasurer’s timesheets, according to KTBS.
• Relief money without a budget: The mayor authorized $1,049,639 in American Rescue Plan Act spending without a council-approved budget, including $18,000 in salary incentives to elected officials and employees that were not budgeted or approved, KTBS reported.
• Payroll taxes: The town did not pay $253,086 in federal and state payroll taxes for 2023 and 2024, and owed $96,806 more in interest and penalties as a result.

What it means

For each finding, auditors said the officials involved “may have violated” state law, and in some cases town ordinance, the town charter, the state constitution or federal law, according to KTBS. The audit points out problems and missed steps. It does not, on its own, show a crime, the Press-Herald noted. No charges have been reported. We name no one: KTBS named the mayor and treasurer, but the Press-Herald used titles only, so we keep titles only under our naming rule. We will link the Legislative Auditor’s report when it is posted.