CLAYTON — A recent state audit raised serious questions about the Town of Clayton, including its very status as a town.

At the request of the new Clayton mayor, Josephine Washington, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor reviewed potential issues and came back with five concerns.

One concern is the town may be misclassified and should be listed as a village based on population, Data collected in the 2010 U.S. Census shows Clayton had 711 residents. Louisiana code requires a town to have more than 1,000 residents.

Clayton currently operates with five aldermen, but if changed to a village, should only have three.

The state auditor requests the town either challenge the census data or adopt a resolution requesting the governor to change the municipal classification to a village.

In looking into missing equipment, auditors discovered at least one Clayton official had utilized town equipment for personal use.

Auditors say former mayor Rydell Turner used a nail gun and an air compressor owned by Clayton to perform work as a contractor for the Concordia Parish Recreation District No. 1 on the Ferriday recreation center.

By using town equipment for personal purposes, Turner may have violated state law.

Salaries set by the board of aldermen were improperly classified. In 2015, Turner’s salary was increased from $850 to $1,700 per month in July and then to $2,100 per month in August.

Aldermen increased their salary from $150 to $325 per month.

Although approved by the board, the salary increases were not made by ordinance as is required by Louisiana code.

Payments made to a Clayton employee also were a concern.

The employee was paid for 10 days of sick leave, even though his term with Clayton was less than three months in 2015. The employee should have only accrued and been paid for two days of sick leave during that time.

By paying the employee, Clayton may have violated the Louisiana Constitution. The Louisiana Attorney General has consistently said that gratuitous unearned payments to public employees or officials are prohibited as they are comparable to donations.

The same employee was also separately paid $1,025 as a contractor for maintenance. The auditor suggests this payment may have violated the state’s ethics laws and suggests the Louisiana Board of Ethics review the findings and take appropriate legal action.

In a letter to the state auditor, Washington said the board would take action to comply with all of the findings as swiftly as possible.