TENSAS PARISH - The local government of a small community in Louisiana's northeastern Tensas Parish became the subject of an official audit conducted recently.

The Village of Waterproof's local government, according to the auditor, was taken advantage of a former employee who stole thousands of dollars. The auditor's report also revealed concerning lapses in the upkeep of financial records and related paperwork.

A former employee of the Village is believed to have stolen approximately $30,000 in cash from sales taxes and occupational licenses to use for various personal expenses between June 2019 and November 2020.

The individual was arrested, and the case was ongoing as of the date of the audit report.

In addition, the independent auditor found the Village did not reconcile utility account and meter deposit records with the general ledger, failed to comply with bond covenant requirements, and did not maintain a sufficient cash balance to pay its customer deposit liability.

The auditor also found the Village has not remitted sales tax payments collected since 2018, failed to adequately maintain public records, failed to file its annual audit report timely, and failed to timely amend its budget.

Click here to view the auditor's full report.