By Cain Madden

The Natchez Democrat

FERRIDAY — Though overall the recent financial audit of the Town of Ferriday was positive, auditors identified some weaknesses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015.

None of the deficiencies were considered significant. Three of the listed deficiencies have been at least partially corrected.

Ferriday Mayor Gene Allen said for years the town’s old water meters were undercharging residents, and the report lists that 40 percent of the meters were broken.

On Feb. 25, Allen said the town plans a ribbon cutting for its new water system.

“We have new meters all over town,” he said. “We don’t even have to go out and read them — they are read by a satellite. It is working properly.”

The next issue auditors cited relates to compliance with sewer fund bonds. The “contingency fund” is required to have a monthly deposit of $441, but the town made no deposits during the budget year. Allen said the town would correct that this year.

“We haven’t done it in the last 10-12 years,” he said. “We didn’t have those instructions when we came in during 2012.”

In 2013-14, the town’s budgeted and actual expenditures varied by 27 percent. Statute requires that actual expenditures be no more than 5 percent greater than the budgeted amount. The report noted that was corrected in 2014-2015.

The next issue auditors noted was the late filing of the 2014 audit report. The report states that corrective action was not taken and recommends that the town file its audit report in a timely manner this year.

Finally, relating to a letter from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor that was sent in 2012, the town has cleaned up two of the three issues. The town is complaint with the local government budget act and the elimination of deficit fund balances in the utility and general funds. For the third item, as mentioned earlier in the story, the town is not yet complaint with all bond / loan payment covenants.

Additionally, Allen said the town had some dormant accounts that needed to be taken care of.

“We have six accounts that we need to do something with to spend the money and close the accounts,” he said. “It’s about $6,000, $7,000. It’s money that we haven’t been using for about 9 years.”

Overall, the town’s net position improved from 2014 to 2015. The net position ending 2014 was $6.7 million and that figure was up to $9.8 million in 2015.

The town’s cash balance was up more than $200,000 from 2014 to 2015.

“The audit was good,” Allen said. “Our income has been managed properly, and we try not to overspend. We have kept our budget in line, our expenditures in line with our income.”