FENTON — Mayor Eddie Alfred Jr. may have violated state law when he drove an unmarked vehicle with blue lights and paid his uncle to put in a heliport for the village, a recent legislative advisory audit revealed.

The four-page audit report, issued Feb. 27, found that a village-owned Dodge Charger driven by Alfred “was not marked in accordance with state law, and the vehicle was equipped with blue lights which violates state law.”

Alfred said Wednesday the lights have been disabled and that the vehicle is now officially marked. “I got the vehicle in 2010 and have been driving it ever since without any problems,” he said.

He said the vehicle was initially bought for the Police Department, but was not used because budget cuts forced officials to hire fewer people —one officer instead of two. “The vehicle had already been purchased for that officer and was equipped, so the police chief decided to let the mayor have it,” Alfred said.

He said he uses it for village business and that he removed the markings on the vehicle himself after someone made remarks. “It was something I decided to do,” he said. “It wasn’t for any personal reason. I just took them off.”

State law requires that public vehicles have the name of the village “inscribed, painted, decaled or stenciled” on. The penalty for a violation is a fine of $25-$50 for each day the violation is committed.

In addition, the audit found that Alfred’s vehicle was equipped with blue lights. State law only allows law enforcement officers to use blue lights. The report recommended that the lights be removed.

The report said Alfred awarded a $7,696 project to build a heliport for the village to his uncle, Melvin Alfred Sr., in 2011 without obtaining formal approval from the Board of Aldermen.

“According to the audit, the council didn’t know, but the council did discuss and voted on it,” he said. Because the project was under the $10,000 threshold for public bids, he said approval was only made verbally. “It was not put into the official minutes because there was no motion of second,” he said.

Melvin Alfred Sr. was paid $5,279 for the project.

State law gives the mayor authority to sign all contracts on behalf of the village, but a Louisiana attorney general’s opinion says “the mayor cannot execute a contract that expends public funds in the absence of an ordinance or resolution from the board of aldermen authorizing him to do so,” according to the report.

“In the future, Mayor Alfred should ensure that (1) he obtains authorization from the board before executing contracts; (2) all contracts/agreements are evidenced in writing setting forth the specific terms and conditions; and (3) all contracts are reviewed by legal counsel and formally approved by the board,” the report reads.

It also noted several internal control deficiencies: a “lack of controls over the business and personal use of Village vehicles”; “inadequate documentation of fuel usage”; “lack of controls over the use of Village equipment”; “lack of controls over utility collections, including the need to adopt and enforce a utility cutoff policy”; and a “lack of written record retention schedule to help ensure that public records of the Village are maintained in accordance with law.”

Alfred said policies are in place for most of the findings. Some of the policies have had to be revised to change the wording because of the report, he said.

He said the village maintains a fuel log and that cameras are placed around the village hall to document fuel use. Additionally, fuel use and mileage are documented, he said.

The resolution of the findings will be monitored by the Legislative Auditor’s Office.

Online: www.lla.state.la.us.

(MGNonline)