FERRIDAY, La. — An independent audit of the Ferriday Housing Authority shows accounting discrepancies from the last years. The report, released through the State Auditor’s Office this week, is not the result of a state probe, but instead was compiled by the authority’s own auditor. The audit cites accounting discrepancies from the last three fiscal years, &uot;not just one year. And the reason (the accountant) is going back and looking at these things is that we’re in there investigating the authority,&uot; Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle said Wednesday. Officials of Kyle’s office have been reviewing records and conducting interviews since mid-August as part of an investigation of the authority. It is not yet known when such on-site work will be complete or when that audit will be released by the state, Kyle said.

This week’s report, compiled by authority CPA Mike Estes of Fort Worth, Texas, shows budget overruns, property purchases and loans not federally approved, and a lack of documentation of some expenses.

Authority Director Charles Bell could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. But in responses contained in Estes’ audit, Bell addressed each discrepancy, either explaining the findings or promising to correct them.

And in news reports, Bell said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has done its own audit and found no problems.

Estes’ findings included the following:

Budget overruns of $22,505 during the year ending March 31. But that is down from more than $103,000 in overruns the previous fiscal year, Bell has said.

4A residential property was bought in 1997 for $17,500 and a commercial property was bought in 1998 for $32,500 without getting prior approval from HUD, which oversees the authority. &uot;At (HUD) seminars I hear … that we have to think of new ways to generate income. Both of these properties do that,&uot;&160;Bell said in his response. The authority hopes to turn the commercial property into a child care center and lease some space out for a job training center.

Rent from the commercial property, which is on Mickey Gilley Avenue, has been deposited into the account of the Community Housing Development Organization of Concordia (CHDC), a nonprofit formed by the authority in late 1998, rather than authority accounts.

&uot;If we are supposed to deposit the rent into the (authority’s account), instead of the nonprofit, we will,&uot;&160;said Bell, who is also the nonprofit’s president.

The authority borrowed $20,000 in June to improve the commercial property and used that property, three other properties and a $10,000 certificate of deposit as collateral without prior HUD approval. Bell said he thought he was on &uot;solid ground&uot; with state law and noted that he had gotten approval from the authority’s board before doing so.

More than $30,000 was paid to Bell as CHDC’s director for expenses that were not completely documented.

Bell replied Estes had not given him enough time to produce documentation. He added that he would pay payroll taxes on the amount if necessary.

Last Christmas, gifts were bought for workers at the authority with $190 in authority funds – which Bell has promised not to do again. He said he reimbursed the amount to the authority.

One authority employee lives in housing managed by the authority at a reduced rent of $100 per month, which the board needs to approve, said Estes.

Also, a policeman lives in a unit rent-free in exchange for working part-time as a public housing security guard, which Estes said must be approved by HUD. Bell said only that he would comply with the law.

The authority operates 56 apartments at a complex on Louisiana 15 as well as a 12-unit development on Arkansas Avenue.

It is audited annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and has gotten perfect or near-perfect performance scores from HUD for the past several years.