VIDALIA — Officials said the Town of Vidalia is in a financially strong position despite being included on the legislative auditor’s list of 18 “fiscally distressed municipalities” in Louisiana.

Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera compiled a list of municipalities in Louisiana — including Vidalia — that could struggle to provide basic services such as police protection and utilities in the near future based on their financial records.

According to a list released Wednesday on the legislative auditor’s website at lla.la.gov, Vidalia, Winnsboro and Waterproof, Louisiana, all presented a negative fund balance in their financial records — meaning each had more liabilities than assets.

However, Vidalia accountant Debra Moak said the legislative auditor’s report only considered Vidalia’s general fund balance through the end of the fiscal year ending in 2018 and not the town’s combined revenue over total expenses — which Moak said would have placed the town in the positive by more than $2 million.

The general fund revenue balance is comprised of property taxes and vehicle license and permit fees while the town uses utility revenue to keep property taxes low and offset other expenses, Moak said. 

In 2016, Moak said the legislative auditor’s office began an Advisory Services Report at the town’s request that was not finalized until June 2018.

The report stated that the town should maintain a positive fund balance in the general fund — which showed a negative balance of $1.7 million in the fiscal year ending in 2017.

Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft said the town has since satisfied that requirement with a positive general fund balance of $695,952 by the fiscal year ending in 2019.

“It’s unfair to the people of Vidalia to place Vidalia on a list of fiscally distressed municipalities when in actuality we are far from it,” Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft said. “When this administration first came into office in 2016, our town was in bad shape and we have since corrected that with a collaborative effort.”

Craft said the town has worked hard to reduce operating expenses to the tune of $4,573,000 annually, leaving the town with $4,240,398 in combined revenue over expenses.

“The Town of Vidalia is in very strong financial shape and continues to get better,” Craft said.

Other city’s, towns and villages in Louisiana were included on the legislative auditor’s list for having poor accounting records; presenting ongoing concerns for future operations due to a significant debt, insufficient utility rates or loss of a major industrial taxpayer or had significant problems with their water system that could increase the risk of a public health emergencies or require expensive repairs.

Other municipalities on the list included Melville, Clinton, LeCompte, Ball, Jonesboro, Washington, Grambling, Epps, Tallulah, Basile, Lake Providence, Newellton, Baldwin, Tullos and Powhatan.