An audit of the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging released Monday shows the agency finished 2016 with a $221,760 deficit โ a more than 9 percent increase in its deficit from 2015.
The Council on Aging has been in the spotlight since the quasi-governmental nonprofit succeeded in a November election in convincing voters to approve a dedicated property tax. The group's executive director, Tasha Clark Amar, said last year the agency needs a dedicated funding source to expand services, including meals on wheels.
The East Baton Rouge Council on Aging is creating a new group to help guide how it will spen…
"(The Council on Aging) in the past has supplemented its public funds with private donations and grants," Amar said Monday in a written statement to Louisiana in response to questions about the audit. "In Fiscal Year 2015-2016, the amount of private donations was less than the prior year. The number of seniors needing services in East Baton Rouge Parish continues to grow and in the future this need will be addressed by anticipated tax dollars."
The 2.25-mill property tax voters approved will more than double the agency's budget. The city-parish will collect the money for the Council on Aging in 2017, but the agency will not receive that tax money until 2018.
Meanwhile, many political leaders have questioned the Council on Aging's campaign tactics and past audits from the "high-risk auditee," as LA Champagne & Co. LLP Certified Public Accountants calls them in the new audit. While the audit released Monday is for COA's annual financial statements, the ถถา๕h Legislative Auditor's office is working on a separate investigation of the agency's actions during the course of the campaign to pass the dedicated tax.
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Republican Metro Councilman Buddy Amoroso has called for broader oversight of the agency, and council members disagreed at the end of last year about whether to even fund the Council on Aging in 2017. They ended up voting to keep $877,440 budgeted for the Council on Aging in 2017 outย of the city-parish's general fund.
The audit shows COA continued to struggle with decreases in revenue in 2016. Revenue dropped by 2 percent between 2015 and 2016 while expenses also decreased by 10 percent during that time period.
State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, defended the Council on Aging from accusations about mismanagement and misspending. She said people need to look more about the good services the agency provides regardless of how much money is available for them.
"Of course you're going to have a deficit," Marcelle said. "You're trying to feed more people than you're allocating money for."
The audit also flagged two repeat findings from 2015. Auditors found 45 instances in 2,673 items that they tested in which someone who received meals at a senior center did not sign in the right place after receiving a meal.
"The lack of reconciliations over meal counts may result in unnecessary meal costs being incurred by the Council," the audit reads.
The Council on Aging told auditors they will develop policies to better track their meal services at senior centers. Amar said in her statement Monday that COA has proposed using its additional funds from the tax for an electronic sign-in system for the hot meals it serves.
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The audit also warned the Council on Aging that its fire and casualty insurance violates its lease agreement with City Hall. COA should be covered for up to $5 million in fire and casualty insurance, but it's covered for only $2.5 million.
The Council on Aging responded that they hope to move to another city-parish facility on Main Street, but renovation and construction delays have prevented them from moving and negotiating a new lease. COA's current location on Florida Boulevard has been appraised for $2.5 million, dictating how much insurance coverage it can receive.