(The Center Square) — The Louisiana Fiscal Review Committee has again recommended placing the town of Bogalusa under the control of a fiscal administrator, citing severe financial distress.
If approved, this would mark the second time in six years that a fiscal administrator has been appointed to oversee the Washington Parish town’s finances.
When former Mayor Wendy O’Quin Perrette was defeated by the ambitious 23-year old Tyrin Truong, she said in a statement that Truong “has demonstrated repeatedly during this campaign that he lacks the skills necessary to lead and unite our city.”
Since then, Truong has been arrested on charges authorities said stemmed from a drug trafficking investigation, solicitation for prostitutes, and “unauthorized use of a moveable.”
Truong has not been convicted.
Bogalusa’s financial woes are not news and the newly appointed fiscal administrator may have to account for finances dating back to the previous fiscal crisis that began in 2019. When the city’s finances were returned to the city council and Perette, the city was issued a three-year plan in order to “maintain fiscal stability.”
“Based on our review, it does not appear that the City has fully complied with the requirements and recommendations of the three year plan approved by the Fiscal Review Committee in July 2021,” the Louisiana Legislative Auditor wrote to Truong and Bogalusa City Council in the July audit.
According to the July audit, the Truong administration failed to take any steps to prepare, advertise, or adopt a budget for fiscal year 2023 before the end of 2022.
Perrette said she attempted to pass a budget before leaving office, but Truong refused to collaborate, preferring to draft his own, the auditor wrote.
The former director of administration under Perrette did not prepare a budget, citing uncertainty over the new administration’s payroll expenses, and that “she did not reach out to the incoming administration about preparing the budget.”
Truong eventually submitted a budget on March 23, 2023, which was introduced by the City Council in May and formally approved on June 8, 2023.
The budget difficulties and discrepancies continued. According to the July audit, the City Controller discovered “numerous miscoded expenses, transfers that had not been posted to the accounting system, and revenues from FY 2022 that were posted in the wrong year (FY 2023).”
It is unclear whether these errors occurred under Perrette or Truong.
These errors have cost the city millions and are so numerous that it is difficult to understand who is accountable.
“I love Bogalusa, I don’t hate anybody there,” said Councilmember Mark Irvine. “It’s just that we hate the operationals of what’s been done. Priorities are not being taken care of.”
“The administration has literally spoken down on us,” Irvine continued. “They do not treat us as a part of the team, and in turn, that’s what causes dissension and division amongst the council, and I’m gonna just tell you, that 2025 budget…is a pure mess it needs to be rewritten by [the] fiscal administrator.”
Bogalusa’s financial problems are severe. The city currently lacks sufficient revenue to cover its expenditures, and it owes more than $1 million to the IRS and nearly $300,000 to the state, according to Waguespack.
“I know people all across the state are watching us,” Truong was reported as saying in The Advocate. “If you have concerns about young people leading, just let us lead.”
Since 2005, at least 15 municipalities and public entities in Louisiana have been placed under fiscal administration.
