“They have been spending too much money,” is the assessment of local attorney Bill Jones.  He has been reviewing audits of the Parishwide Fire Protection District in light of the district’s request to have their property tax renewed three years early.  Jones first raised his objections back in March when the tax renewal proposition was put on the ballot by the Police Jury.

The 2019 calendar year audit of the fire department was released at the end of June by the Legislative Auditor.  Jones told The Journal the audit showed a deficiency of revenue over expenditures in 2019 of $543,076.  Jones said, “They ended 2019 with $2,534 in the bank.  Where has their surpluses gone?”

Jones pointed out that the ending year balance in 2015 was $2,039,390.  That rose to $4,897,229 at the end of 2016.  It was down to $1,4591,654 at the end of 2017, down to $173,203 at the end of 2018, and last December the fire department ended the year with $2534 in the bank.

The 2019 audit notes on page 33 that the district received $200,000 in limited tax bonds on January 2, 2020 to fund a December 31, 2019 cash shortage.

Back in March Jones questioned the timing of the tax renewal.  He told the Police Jury his research into the fire departments finances indicates that they are spending a lot more than they are getting in.  Jones said, “Everyone agrees we want the best fire protection we can afford.  But everybody must live within a budget and it appears that is not being done in this case.

The Journal asked Fire Chief Shawn Felts about the low cash balance at the end of 2019.  Felts said, “We use our money wisely every year.  We never just blow money.”  Felts indicated that there are no surplus funds to carry over from 2019 because of the cost of operating the fire department, the new central station, and seven outlying fire stations throughout the parish.

“We’re not trying to get more money,” said Felts, “This is the tax we used to build the station and refinancing the balance due on the station will lower our note payments.”