www.thecentersquare.com – By Emilee Calametti | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-16 12:45:00
A recent audit reveals the town of Melville faces ongoing financial struggles after four years of operating losses. The town’s utility system lacks meters at most residences, causing rampant utility theft and unresolved bill payments, including many officials with overdue accounts. The audit highlighted failures such as non-payment of payroll taxes, inadequate documentation, and repeated past audit findings. Melville’s net position declined due to rising expenses, especially in public safety. Despite receiving federal grants, the town’s financial health is worsening. To address these issues, Melville plans to propose additional sales and property taxes and reduce departmental spending.
(The Center Square) — A recent audit report showed the town of Melville is still experiencing financial hardship after four years of losses.
“The town has experienced significant operating losses over the past four fiscal years,” the auditor’s report said. “The town’s utility system doesn’t feature meters at most residences, and many sections of the utility system cannot be cut off individually, which has made utility theft rampant.”
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor released a report that detailed many financial shortcomings for the town, including non-payment of all required payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
The town also did not keep adequate documentation, according to the report, to reconcile underlying meter deposit liability to individual account balances. Many elected officials with past-due accounts were found after not enforcing a uniform cutoff policy for non-payment of utilities.
The town has reportedly received large federal grants to assist with issues, but the auditor said, “The town’s financial position is rapidly deteriorating.”
This is not the first audit showing troubles for the town. Back in 2022, reports showed many town officials owed the federal government for payroll taxes. The previous audit specified 10 findings for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2020. Five of those findings were repeated from previous audits.
According to the report, the town’s net position decreased by $9,746 from governmental activities due to an increase in public safety expenses. Business-type activities also decreased the net position by over $134,000 from transfers to support governmental activities.
The audit statement of activities showed general government expenses at $486,302, with public safety expenses totaling $232,988. The total expenses for all governmental activities were $733,678.
To rectify these issues, the town plans to add an additional sales tax to the election ballot, an additional property tax and will try to reduce departmental spending. Many of the findings were reported to have happened under different administration.
Emilee Ruth Calametti currently serves as Staff Reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Her articles have been featured in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, EntertainmentNOW, AOL, MSN, and more. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article primarily reports on the financial struggles of the town of Melville, Louisiana, based on an audit report. It focuses on factual details such as operating losses, issues with utility systems, tax non-payment, and actions to address financial difficulties, such as proposed taxes and spending cuts. While the article covers the negative findings of the audit and the town’s financial decline, it does not advocate for any particular ideological perspective or propose solutions that align with a specific political viewpoint. It presents the information in a straightforward manner, without a discernible bias in terms of tone or language. The reporting is neutral, fact-based, and centers on the town’s economic challenges without endorsing or criticizing any political position.
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