The recent Oakdale council meeting involved discussions about the mayor’s appointment of the city clerk, the way the city handles its bills and whether or not an employee was following the correct procedures when doing city business. After the meeting, Mayor Gene Paul believed some of things discussed in the meeting, in the community and put into print — needed more clarification.
All of these issues were addressed in the last council meeting by newly-elected District Four Councilman Jeremy Smith. He asked the council to go into executive session at that meeting, but no one offered a second to the motion. Smith shared his concerns in the public meeting.
After the meeting, Mayor Paul said he and Royce T. Scimemi, the city’s CPA, met with Smith before the meeting but the city’s audits were not discussed. Scimemi said they did not discuss the city’s audit for the last five years as Smith pointed out in the meeting.
Scimemi said Oakdale has some of the tightest internal controls he has seen in his job. He said the mayor looks at everything – all transactions. He said probably 98 percent of mayors don’t look at all aspects of city business like Mayor Paul does. Paul’s looking at vendor invoices, purchase orders, etc.
Paul agreed with Scimemi’s evaluation of city protocol. He said when he took office in 2013, the city was running in the red for about a million dollars. At the time, his goal was to get the city back on track. Today the city is running in the black again. And when something needs to be changed to make sure the city continues growing a healthy budget, he makes those changes.
He referred to the third party the city uses to pay its bills. When he first took office some things didn’t come across his desk. He quickly changed that function of the accounting system, and now everything comes across his desk. Mayor Paul said even if its for $5, it’s coming across his desk. His administration is also paying all bills within 30 days, because he has two council members who are available to sign checks and approve bills.
“I look at everything,” Paul said. “Royce will tell you that – everything – a voided check crosses my desk.”
Scimemi said in a phone interview, Oakdale had nine internal issues in its 2013 audit that were based on an employee mishandling pay roll, collection of taxes, keeping a reserve fund, failing to follow bid law, credit card late fees, delinquent payroll taxes, etc. In 2019, there were five findings, but they were not as serious as the 2013 findings. Some of the problems for the city last year came from former police chief Joeseph Lockett, who was spending more than allocated in his budget.
Most findings in small cities deal with segregation of duties, which is harder to achieve or in some cases the same employee must handle cash and pay bills.
Last year, the city decided to give employees a one-time payment for services rendered. He said the town’s attorney said it was feasible, and the process was done. Scimemi came in and explained it had to be done in another way through the auditing process. He explained the city could give a one-time supplement, but it had to be placed in the budget at the beginning of the year. He said 99 percent of findings across the country are the result of errors.
Scimemi said Oakdale City Clerk Lisa Schaefer doesn’t handle cash. She does pick up the mail. He said if something had been done wrong, it would be fraudulent and in the findings. He also said they have found nothing unethical in her daily operations.
The mayor also pointed out there have been no findings of wrong doing against Schaefer. He said the appointment to city clerk was his call, which is in his rights as mayor.
Paul pointed out Smith was upset of how long it took to receive payment for his services to the city. He said the documents were inspected, and the check was not signed by two councilmen. It went through the third party payment process. In the two recent hurricanes, many of the city’s records got wet and that is why the documents were not presented again.
“I’m very satisfied with her (Schaefer),” Paul said. Royce checks behind her every year.
Since 2015 when Smith wasn’t paid, he has made many changes in internal controls and believes the city is checking and balancing its daily activities everyday. If something wrong is highlighted, it is changed so it will not be wrong again.
Scimemi said, “He’s (Paul) got them out of dire financial situation.” He pointed out the mayor has used internal controls and the budget as tools to manage the city’s funds and spending.
In reference to utilizing a third party to pay bills, the mayor believes no ethical violations have occurred and uses his internal control tools to keep things moving in the right direction. He also checked with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office, the president of LMA (Louisiana Municipal Association) and the attorney for the Louisiana Ethics Commission Board. He said he learned no policy exists when referring to signatures on a check, but it was considered a good practice to have two people sign all checks for the city. Mayor Paul said he will continue to utilize these tools and make sure the City of Oakdale moves forward in the right direction in all aspects.
