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.
The Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) has dramatically improved from one of the nation’s lowest-ranked organ donation organizations in 2023 to a top-tier agency within two years. This transformation was driven by new federal evaluation standards introduced in 2022, focusing on actual donation and transplantation rates rather than outdated metrics. LOPA expanded its hospital staff, enhanced family services, and upgraded organ preservation technology, resulting in a 22% increase in successful transplants. While some agencies, like South Carolina’s Sharing Hope, struggle under the new rules, LOPA’s strategic reforms and willingness to take calculated risks have positioned it for continued success.
The leader of a Louisiana nonprofit that coordinates organ transplants says it has transformed from one of the nation’s lowest ranking organizations of its kind to one of the best in less than two years.
In 2023, the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency ranked among the bottom 10 in the country for its organ donation rate. It faced scrutiny from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees organ procurement operations.
LOPA is now on track to rank among the top 10, according to its top executive, Brett Gordon. The agency’s current donation and transplant rates will make it a Tier 1 organization, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s highest rating category, he said.
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The motivation for LOPA’s progress is a new federal rating system launched in 2022 that set strict standards for a medical specialty area that had shown little improvement in response to skyrocketing demand for organs over the past 20 years.
There are currently 56 organ procurement organizations in the United States. A 2017 study from the Bridgespan Group, a philanthropy consultancy, referred to them as “government-granted monopolies” with few incentives to improve for a lack of competition. As a result, demand for organ transplants was far outpacing the supply of organs.
The study noted 6,000 to 8,000 people died each year while on a transplant waiting list, and 28,000 available organs from deceased donors were going unused and wasted annually.
Before 2022, organ agency evaluations did a poor job of assessing their success at achieving their ultimate goal — providing organs for successful transplants — according to the Bridgespan study.
One of the old metrics was the number of organs procured per donor. A individual can donate up to eight organs, but that number tends to be less from older donors. As a result, organ agencies were pursuing younger donors while overlooking older, single-organ donors.
Another measure was the number of organs recovered per “eligible death,” which was self-reported and subject to interpretation, the study found.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented new evaluation standards in 2022 that judged organ agencies based on the number of people donating at least one organ and the number of organs obtained and successfully transplanted.
The new metrics, referred to as the donation rate and the transplantation rate, led groups to focus on obtaining more organ donations. With the updated rules in place, LOPA’s decided to reform its operations. The organization identified several areas in need of improvement and began expanding their staff, Gordon said.
The first focus was referrals. LOPA learns about potential organ donors primarily through hospitals and coroners’ offices. These referrals need to come as soon as possible because it’s a race against the clock to transplant a viable organ.
“It’s really critical because it has to be timely,” Gordon said. “We needed to be present in the hospital.”
LOPA increased its hospital development staff, primarily nurses and other medical professionals who are trained and educated in organ procurement and know about the timelines and protocols. They also communicate with hospitals and doctors on identifying potential donors.
LOPA also retrained and added staff to its family services team to increase the chances that people would donate the organs of their deceased relatives. This can be the most difficult and sensitive part of the process, and it takes a special kind of person to approach a grieving family member about an organ donation, Gordon said. Family services members need to have high levels of empathy and be trained in grief support, he added.
The agency also added new life support systems to its organ recovery clinic that keep donated organs viable for extended periods.
With these changes, LOPA was able to increase its referrals, which led to more organ donations and more successful transplants, from 725 to 883 — a 22% increase — in just one year.
Although the 2022 federal rules have spurred a positive transformation at LOPA, organ agencies in other states have struggled under the changes.
South Carolina’s We Are Sharing Hope SC was ranked among the bottom agencies alongside LOPA back in 2023 and has continued to struggle since then, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette.
Sharing Hope President David DeStefano has voiced concerns that the new rules unfairly fault organ procurement agencies for things that are beyond their control, such as a transplant center rejecting an organ.
A person’s age, health and manner of death — including whether they died in the hospital — all factor into the viability of their organs. Under the new rules, any person under age 75 who dies of heart failure, a loss of blood flow to the brain, drug overdose, suicide or drowning counts as a potential donor.
That puts an aging, unhealthy, rural state such as South Carolina at a disadvantage, DeStefano told the Gazette.
The new rules have prompted organ agencies to procure organs they once passed over because of a donor’s age and other health factors that might cause a recipient’s body to reject it. The Bridgespan study noted those risk-averse concerns did not correlate with better transplant outcomes. Advances in medicine and technology have increased both the number and success of transplants, the research found.
Just last year, doctors in Missouri successfully transplanted a liver from a 98-year-old man to a 72-year-old woman, according to the Associated Press.
In the last federal review, Sharing Hope was listed among 10 organ agencies at risk of losing their certification. The same list included LOPA at the time, but next year’s review will look very different for Louisiana, Gordon said.
“We had to experiment,” he said. “But we took intelligent risks to improve.”
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Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
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
This article presents a factual and balanced report on the improvements at the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) in response to new federal standards and does not display overt political leanings. The content centers on healthcare administration, federal policy impact, and nonprofit accountability without endorsing a particular political ideology or framing the issue through a partisan lens. It includes perspectives on federal regulation and local challenges, maintaining a neutral, informative tone typical of centrist reporting.
SUMMARY: Mayor Latoya Cantrell skipped a major Amtrak Mardi Gras line event the day after her indictment on 11 federal charges, mostly linked to alleged misuse of city funds during an affair with former bodyguard Jeffrey Vape. Despite being listed as a speaker, Cantrell avoided public appearances and media, a move political analysts see as sound legal strategy to prevent jeopardizing her case. However, experts emphasize she must continue serving the city effectively despite the allegations. The indictment accuses Cantrell and Vape of spending over $70,000 on travel funded by the city, part of a broader fraud scheme abusing public power.
“It’s irritating for her and her supporters, but that’s the best strategy for her from a legal standpoint,” WWL Louisiana Political Analyst Clancy DuBos said.
SUMMARY: Hurricane Aaron rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm by Saturday morning, August 16th, with winds reaching 160 mph, just a day after becoming a Category 1. The compact but powerful hurricane is passing north of the Caribbean Islands, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds, and rough beaches, while sparing the islands from the worst damage. Aaron is expected to move north and northeast later in the week, away from the U.S. Although the storm won’t directly impact the U.S., it will cause massive waves and dangerous rip currents along the East Coast, creating hazardous beach conditions despite good surfing opportunities.
Erin is a powerful Category 5 hurricane as of Saturday morning. It is passing north of Puerto Rico. Some heavy rain, rough surf, and gusty winds will be around for parts of the northern Islands this weekend as Erin passes to the north. Erin will continue to north and eventually east late next week, avoiding the United States.
