BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — The City of Carencro had several accounting irregularities noted in an audit released by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office on Monday, including two possible violations of the Louisiana Constitution.

The audit, performed by the accounting firm of Kolder, Slaven & Co, LLC, covered the year ending Nov. 30, 2024.

Auditors said the city loaned funds to an unidentified nonprofit organization and allowed Carencro Area Youth Sports, Inc., to use its recreational facilities at no charge, both of which violated the Louisiana Constitution.

“Article 7, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution states ‘the funds, credit, property
or things of value of the state or of any political subdivision shall not be loaned, pledged, or
donated to or for any person, association, or corporation, public or private,'” the audit read.

Auditors said the city needed to pass an ordinance or execute a cooperative endeavor agreement before the money was loaned, and did not have appropriate policies and procedures to ensure that organizations and individuals who use public facilities were properly charged.

In the city’s official response, Carencro Mayor Charlotte Clavier said a cooperative endeavor agreement was negotiated with the recipient of the city money and executed after the fact, in January 2025, and that the city would ensure a cooperative endeavor agreement is in place before any additional facility use is allowed.

Another irregularity the auditor noted was that the city “did not retain sufficient records to provide adequate audit evidence necessary for us to express an opinion or provide any assurance on the business-type activities and culture and recreation fund.”

Clavier wrote that this could not be helped.

“This finding continues to be the result of the fire that destroyed the majority of the historical records of Pelican Park,” Clavier wrote. “Without these records, the proper accounting for the fiscal year to comply with generally accepted accounting principles could not be maintained.”

She also said the problem would likely be found again in the next year’s audit, and that it could be 2026 before it is rectified.

The auditor also found the city lacked adequate segregation of duties for its accounting functions, lacked adequate controls over the preparation of its financial statements and did not have a staff person with the necessary qualifications to review payroll functions and records.

Clavier said the city can’t afford the additional full-time position auditors recommended to solve the issues.

“Due to the size of the operations and the cost-benefit of additional personnel, it may not be feasible to achieve complete segregation of duties,” Clavier wrote. “(H)owever, the City has implemented mitigating controls in certain key areas including hiring outside accounting consults to assist with bank reconciliations and other account reconciliations.”

Read the audit in its entirety below:

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