The audit, released in March, revealed improper use of city vehicles, improper department head appointments, improper compensatory leave payments and exceeding budget amounts approved by the Westlake City Council.
According to a news release from the DA’s Office, the most significant issue in the audit involved the spending of millions of city dollars on capital projects and the expenditure of a lesser amount of money on travel and other expenses.
Under Louisiana law, because actual dollars spent exceeded the city’s budget by 3.29 percent, the expenditures are not illegal because they do not exceed five percent from the general fund, the news release stated.
“It has been noted that the Budgetary Comparison Schedule for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, demonstrates that the total budget was $5,323,866, while the actual expenditures exceeded this amount by $175,266, or 3.29 percent over the budget, all of the expenditures involved in the complaints presented to this office were contained in the actual 2012 budget of $5,499,152.”
For more on this and other breaking stories, check back at www.americanpress.com or pick up your copy of the print edition of the American Press. (American Press Archives)
