plaqijem INES PARISH ASSESSOR

Transcription

1 / ")') plaqijem INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe.A-La-H ache,louisiana FinancialKeport Y earsended D ecem ber31,1999 and 1998 Underprovisionsofstate law,this reportis a public docum erjt.a copy ofthe repm t has been subm itted to the entity and otherapp~opriat~ public officials.7he report is available forpublic inspection atthe Baton Rouge offi~e ofthe Legislative AuditorargO,w here appropriate,atthe office ofthe parish clerk ofcourl Release

2 "/'A BLE O F CON TEN TS Page IndependentA uditors'report 1-2 G EN ERA L PU RPO SE FIN AN CIA L STA TEM EN TS (COM BINED STATEM ENTS -OVERV1F.W ) Com bined,balance sheet-governm entalfund type and accountgroup Statem entsof revenues,expenditures,and changesin fundbalance-budget(gaap basis)and actualgovern n~entalfired type -generalfund N otesto financialstatem ents SU PPLEM EN qa L IN FO RM ATION Impactofyear2000 on computerprograms(unaudited) G eneralfund - Statementsofexpenditurescompared to budget(gaap basis) 14 INTEthN AL CON TROL AN D COM PLIAN CE Report oilcom pliance and on InternalControlO ver FinancialReporting Based on an A uditof Financial Statem entsperform ed in Accordance w ith G nver]lm enla udi/in~ Standardg ScheduleofFindingsandQuestioned Costs Sum m ary s~:hedule of priorauditfindings Corrective action plan forcurrentyearfindings

3 c E~ F~ ercpa R~ t,~lf Chsmp,~gne.CPA VtClO~R Sla~,CPA C.~,sRal,~.CPA C~r~a O C~ '~ n.cpa P."}royCc~r~k,CPA pulrq ~ ~,CPA Me'y T 1 hlbo0ea~.cpa C<-~atd A.Tnlbo~ea ~.Jr.,C~A Ke~ M [x~jcetcpa Ke~,J Rachaf,CPA K O LDER,C HA M PA G N E,SLAV EN & RA IN EY,LLC CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN DEPEN D EN T A U DITO RS'REPO RT 234 R~ Beau~eger~ Lalayete.LA Phone (318) I Fax(318) EastBn0Qe S~reet (~'ea~ Bnd~e ~A (318)332-4O20 Fax(318) EastW sc~l k~at~sv~~,la T ~3~51 P~ {3~8}253`~ 5Z F~ (3~8125~ Da'~d bdve.s~ate 105 M~g~n Qty.LA?03~0 phone(.~04)384-~ 20 F6X(504)384-30PO 40BW CO~ Sb-ee~ 'Ale P~ e,la Pt'one( Fax(31S) W SIX~ Av~ Oberln. LA Ft~;~e (3 ~,e/~ Fax(318) H onorable RobertR.G ravolet Plaquem iuesparish A ssessor Pointe-A -La-H ache,louisiana W e have audited the accom panying generalpurpose financialstatem entsof the Plaquem inesparish A ssessor,a com ponent unit of the Plaquem ines Parish G overnm ent,as of and for the two years ended D ecem ber 31, 1999,as listed in the table of contents. These generalpurpose financialstatem ents are the responsibility of the Plaquem ines Parish A ssessor. O ur responsibility is to express an opinion on lbese generalpurpose financialstatem entsbased on ouraudit. W e conducted ourauditin accordance w ith generally accepted auditing standards and G overnm ent Auditing SLa!~a_r_d_s,issued by thecomptrolergeneraloftheunited States.Thosesfandardsrequirethatwe plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about w hether file general purpose financial statem ents are free of m aterial m isstatem ent. An audit includes exam ining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the am ountsand disclosures in the generalpurpose financialstatem ents. A n auditalso includes assessing the accounting principlesused and significantestim atesm ade by m anagem ent,asw ellasevaluating the overallgcneralpurpose financialstatem entpresentation..w e believe thatourauditprovidesa reasonable basisforouropinion. In our opinion,the generalpurpose financialstatem ents referred to in the first paragraph present fairly,in allm aterialrespects,the financialposition of the Plaquem inesparish A ssessor,asof D ecem ber31, 1999,and the results of itsoperations forthe tw o years then ended,in conform ity w ith generally accepted accounting principles. In accordance w ith G overnm entauditin~ Standards w e have also issued a reportdated June 20,2000 on our consideration of the A ssessor's intern al control over financialreporting and on our tests on its com pliance w ith certain law sand regulations. MEMBER OF P,~ERIC*N *Ns~m,nE OF CERtifIED PUBLIC,~CCOUt4TAF/f$ CERTiFIeD PUBLIC ACCOUFTfAIqT $

4 O ur audit w as perform ed for the purpose of form ing an opinion on the generalpurpose financial statem entstaken asa whole. The year 2000 supplem entary inform ation on page 13 isnota required partof the basic financialstatem ents butis supplem entary inform ation required by the Governm entalaccounting Standar ds Board. W e have applied certain lim ited procedures,which consisted principally of inquiries of m anagem ent regarding the m ethods of m easurem ent and presentation of the supplem entary inform ation. However,w e did notauditthe inform ation and do notexpress an opinion on it. In addition,we do not provide assurance that the A ssessor is or w ill becom e year 2000 com pliant,the A ssessor's year 2000 rem ediation efforts w illbe successfulin whole or in part,orthat parties w ith which the A ssessor does business are orw illbecom e year2000 com pliant. The otherfinancialinform ation listed as "Supplem ental Inform ation"in the table of contentsispresented forpurp osesof additionalanalysisamtisnota required part of the generalpurp ose financialstatem entsof the Plaquem inesparish A ssessor. Such inform ation hasbeen subjected to the~uditing proceduresapplied in theauditofthe generalpurpose financialstatementsand,in ouropinion,is fairly presented in allm aterialrespectsin relation to the respective generalpurpose financial statem entstaken asa w hole. K older,champagne,slaven & R ainey,llc Certified Public A ccountants M organ City,Louisiana June 20,2000

5 G ENERAL PUR PO SE FINAN CIAL STATEM ENTS (CO M BINED STATEM ENTS -OVERVIEW )

6 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A-La-H aehe.louisiana Com bined Balance Sheet-G overnm entalfund Type and A ccountg roup D ecem ber31,1999 A ccount G overn m ental G roup Fund Type G eneral ' G eneralfund Fixed A ssets Totals (M emorandum Only) A SSETS Cash Interest-bearing deposits Investm ents,atcost Receivables: D ue from othergovernm ental units Interest O ther V ehiclesand equipm ent $ 24, , , ,350 2,324 1,414 35,227 $ 24, , , ,350 2,324 1,414 35,227 $ 35, , ,337 3,927 35,227 Totalassets $1,174,784 $ 35,227 $1,210,011 $1,150,094 LIABILITIES AND FUN D EQUITY Liabilities $ $ $ $ Fund equity: Investm entin generalfixed assets Fund balance -unreserved, undesignated Totalfund equity 1,174,784 1,174,784 35,227 35,227 35,227 1,174,784 1,210,011 35,227 1,114,867 1,150,094 Totalliabilitiesand fund equity $I,174,784 $ 35,227 $1,210,011 $1,150,094 The accom panying notesare an integralpar1of thisstatem ent.

7 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Poinle-A-La-Hache,Louisiana StatementsofRevenues,Expenditures,m~d Chan gesin Fund Balance. Budget(GAAP Basis)andActual- GovernmentalFund Type -General Fund YearsEnded December31,1999 and Actual Var iance - Favorable (Unfavorable) Budg~ 1998 Actual Variance- Favorable (Unfavorable) Revenues: lntergovem rae~ltalrevenues- Ad valorem taxes Interest Totalrevenues $ 544,270 $ 528, , , ,655 $ 565,691 30, ,421 $ 528, ,596 $ (37,557) 8,732 Expenditures: Current- Personnelse~wieesand related be nefits O perating services M aterialsand supplies TotaleXl,endilures 42~391 34,734 25, ~462 33,342 24, ,738 (7,071) 1, ,266 58, , ,889 (5,025) 510, ,417 13,135, Excess(deficicncy)ofrevenues overexpenditures 90, (30,690) 86, (20,829) Fund balance,be ginning ofyear 1,100,000 1,114,867 14,867 1,049,688 1,049,688 Fundbalance,endofyear $1,190,607 $1,174,784 $ (15,823) $1,135,696 $1,114,867 $ (20,829) Theaccom pan ying notesare an integralpartofthisstatem ent.

8 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A-La-Hache,Louisiana N otesto FinancialStatem ents (I) S_ u _ m _ m _. a _ r).~ f Si~gnificantA ccounting Policie Asprovided by A rticle VII,Section 24 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974,the Assessoriselected by the votersof the parish and serves a term of fouryears. The A ssessorassessesproperty,prepares tax rolls and subm itsthe rollsto the Louisiana Tax Com m ission asprescribed by law. The accounting and reporting policies of the A ssessor conform to generally accepted accounting principles as applicable to governm ents. Such accounting and reporting procedures also conform to the ndustry auditguide,a _ u _ ditsof State and LocalGovernm entalunits The follow ing isa sum m ary of certain significantaccounting policies A. FinancialReoortim,Entity These generalpurpose financialstatem ents include only funds,accountsgroups, activities,etcetera,thatare controlled by the Assessoras an independently elected parish official. The Plaquem ines Parish G overnm enthas determ ined thatthe A ssessor is a com ponentunitof the Parish G overn m entutilizing criteria established by G overnm ent Accounting Standards Board (GASB) StatementNo. 14. The Parish Government concluded thatthe Assessorisfiscally dependenton the Parish sincethe Assessor'soffice is located in the Plaquem ines Parish Court House,the upkeep and m aintenance of the courthouse ispaid by the Parish Govern m entand in addition,the Parish Govern m entalso payssom e of the A ssessor'soperating expenditures. B. Fund A ccounting TheaccountsoftheAssessorareorganized on thebasisofafund (GeneralFund) and an account group,each of w hich is considered a separate accounting entity. The operationsof the G eneralfund,as provided by Louisiana Revised Statute 47:1906,are accounted for w ith a separate setof self-balancing accounts that com prise its assets, liabilities,fund equity,revenuesand expenditures. Ad valorem tax revenue isaccounted forin thisfund and generaloperating expendituresare paid from thisfund. C. Fixed A ssetsand Lone-Term O blieations Fixed assetsused ingovernmentalfund typeoperations(generalfixed assets)are accounted forin the generalfixed assetsaccountgroup,ratherth an in the G eneralfund. N o depreciation hasbeen provided on fixed assets. Fixed assetsare valued athistorical cost. The accountgroup isnota "fund". Itisconcern ed only with the m easurem entof financialposition and doesnotinvolve m easurem entofresultsof operations. There are no long-term obligationsatdecem ber31,1999

9 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A-La-Hache,Louisiana Notesto FinancialStatements(Continued) D. Basisof A ccounting Basis of accounting refers to when revenues and expenditures are recognized in the accountsand reported in the financialstatem ents. Basisof accounting relatesto the tim ing of the m easurem entsm ade,regardlessof the m easurem entfocusapplied. The A ssessorsrecordsare m aintained on a cash basisof accounting. H ow ever, th e GeneralFund reported in the accompanying financialstatem entshasbeen converted to a m odified accrualbasis of accounting using the follow ing practices in recording revenuesand expenditures: Revenues A d valorem taxes are recorded in the yearad valorem taxes are assessed. A d valorem taxesare assessed on acalendaryearbasis,becom e due on Decem ber31of each yearand becom e delinquenton January 1of the follow ing year. The taxesare generally collected in D ecem ber,january and February of the fiscalyear. Otherintergovernm entalrevenuesand char gesforservicesare recorded w hen the A ssessorisentitled to the funds. Interest on interest-bear ing deposits is recorded or accrued as revenue w hen earned. F,xpenditures Expenditures are generally recognized under the m odified accrual basis of accounting when the related fund liability is incurred. Purchases of various operating suppliesare regarded asexpendituresatthe tim e of purchase. E..]~1~g~etPractices The A ssessor prepares a budgetforthe G eneralfund on the m odified accrual basis of accounting. The budget is advertised in the official parish paper, a public hearing is conducted and the budget is adopted and filed. N otices of availability, adoption of budget, et cetera, are published. Budget am ounts included in the accom panying financialstatem ents include originaladopted budget am ounts and any subsequentam endm ents. A llbudgetary appropriationslapse atthe end of each year. Investm ents State statutesauthorize the Assessorto investin directobligationsof the U nited StatesTreasury and U nited States governm entagency obligations. Investm entsconsists of U nited StatesTreasury B illsand are stated atcost,w hich approxim atesm arket.

10 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A-La-Hache,Louisiana Notesto FinancialStatements(Continued) G. Vacation and Sick Leave Em ployeesw ith one year of service are allowed a tw o w eek vacation annually. Three w eeksof vacation are allow ed afterseven yearsof service,and em ployeesw ith 15 yearsof service orm ore are granted fourw eeksof vacation leave. V acation leave m ay notbe carried forw ard to subsequentyear s. Sick leave w ith pay is set at 12 days per year. Extended sick leave due to extensive hospitalization orfam ily tragediesm ay be granted atthe A ssessor'sdiscretion providing there is no sick leave or annual leave available. Sick leave m ay be accum ulated. Atterm ination orretirem ent,em ployeesare paid forvacation leave accum ulated during the currentyear ;how ever,sick leave is notpaid. At I)ecem ber 31, 1999,the A ssessor has no m aterial accum ulated leave benefits required to be reported in accordance w ith G A SB Sta tem entn o.16,"a ccounting forcom pensated A bsences." 1t. TotalColum n on Balance Shee The "total" colum n on the balance sheetis captioned "M em orandum Only" to indicate th atitispresented only to facilitate financialanalysis. D ata in thiscolum n does not present financial position in conform ity w ith generally accepted accounting principles.n eitherissuch data com parable to a consolidation. Encum brances Encum brance accounting, under which purchase orders, contracts and oth er com m itm entsforthe expenditure of m oniesare recorded in orderto reserve thatportion of the applicable appropriation,is not em ployed by the A ssessor as an extension of form albudgeta ry integration in the funds. (2) Cash and Interest-Bearing Deposits U nderstate law,the A ssessorm ay depositfundsw ithin a fiscalagentbank organized under thelawsof thestate of Louisiana,the lawsof any otherstate in the Union,orthe lawsof theunited States. The A ssessorm ay invest in certificates and tim e deposits of state banks organized under Louisiana law and nationalbankshaving principaloffices in Louisiana. A td ecem ber31,1999,the Assessorhascash and interest-bearing deposits(book balances)totaling $447~,069,asfollows: D em and deposits T im edeposits M orley m arketaccount Tota $ 24, , $ 447,069

11 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A-La-Hache,Louisiana N otesto FinancialStatements(Continued) These depositsare stated atcost,w hich approxim atesm arket. U nderstate law,these deposits (orthe lesulting bank balances),mustbe secured by federaldepositinsurance orthe pledge of securitiesow ned by the fiscalagentbank. The m arketvalue of the pledged securitiesplusthe federal depositinsurance m ustatalltim es equalthe am ounton depositw ith the fiscalagentbank. These securitiesare held in the nam e of the pledging fiscalagentbank in a holding orcustodialbank thatis mutualy acceptableto bothparties. Depositbalances(bank balances)atdecember31,1999,are secured asfollow s: Bank balances Federaldepositinsurance Pledged securities(category 3) Tota $ 475,051 $ 253, ,862 $ 475,051 Pledged securitiesin Category 3 include uninsured orunregistered investm entsforwhich the securitiesare held by the brokerordealer,orby itstrustdepartm entoragent,butnotin the A ssessor's name. Even though thepledged securitiesare considered uncollateralized (Category 3)Louisiana Revised Statute 39:1229 im posesa statutory requirem enton the custodialbank to advertise and sell the pledged securitiesw ithin 10 daysof being notified by the A ssessorthatthe fiscalagenthasfailed to pay deposited fundsupon dem and. (3) In.~_w.~!~).g~ t_s AtDecem ber31,1999 theassessorholdsinvestm entstotaling $200,627asfollow s D escription Interest Rate Carry ing Am ount A pproxim ate M arket V alue U,S.Treasury Bil 4.51 $200,627 $ 200,627 (4).Ad V.al.orem TaxEs Pursuantto A ct 174 of 1990,Louisiana Revised State Statue 47: created a special assessm entdistrictto provide ad valorem taxesrevenue to fund the A ssessor'sofice. A d valorem taxes atach as an enforceable lien on property as of January 1 of each year. D uri~l,g the current fiscal year, taxes w ere levied in June and billed to the taxpayers by the Plaquem ines Parish Sheriff in O ctober. B illed taxesare due by D ecem ber31,becom ing delinquent on Jalau.'try 1of the follow ing year.

12 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A-La-Haebe,Louisiana Notesto FinancialStatements(Continued) The taxesare based on assessed valuesdeterm ined by the Plaquem inesparish Tax A ssessor and are collected by the Sheriff. The taxes are rem itted to the Tax A ssessor netof deductions for pension fund contributions. A d valorem taxes are budgeted and recorded in the year levied and billed. For the years ended Decem ber31,1999 and 1998,specialassessm entdistricttaxeswere levied atthe rate of 1.15 m ills,o~ property w ith assessed valuationstotaling $447,118,535 and $430,696,460,respectively. Totalspecialassessmentdistricttaxes levied during 1999 and 1998 were $514,194 and $495,307,respectively. Taxes and state revenue sharing receivable at D ecem ber 31, 1999,was $523,350. (5) C han~,~esin G eneralfixed A ssets A sum m ary of changesin generalfixed assetsfollow s: Balattce,January 1 Additions D eletions Balance,D ecem ber31 135,227 $ 35,227 $ 135,227 $ 35,227 (6)!'ensi!~LPlan The Plaquem inesparish Assessorparticipatesin the Assessors'Retirem entfund ("Systena"), amultiple-employer,publicemployee retirementsystem (PERS),controledand administrated by a separate board of trustees. The system provides retirem ent, disability and death benefits to plan m em bers and beneficiaries. Benefitsunderthe system are established and am ended by Louisiana state statutes. A publicly available financial report that includes financial statem ents and required supplem ental inform alion m ay be obtained by w riting to the A ssessors'retirem entfund,p.o.box 14699,Baton Rouge,Louisiana Plan m em bers are required to contribute 7.0 percentof theirannualcovered salary and the A ssessorisrequired to contribute atthe statutory rate of 5.75 percentof the annualcovered payroll. Tbe A ssessor'scontributionsto the system forthe yearended Decem ber31,1999,1998 and 1997 were $19,648,$19,753 and $18,036,respectively,equalto the required contribution foreach year.

13 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A -La-H ache,louisiana Notesto FinancialStatements(Continued) (7) L~!~ There isno litigation pending againstthe A ssessor'soffice atd ecem ber3 I,1999 (8) Risk~ 9~ ement The A ssessor is exposed to various risks of loss related to torls;theft of,dam age to,and destructionofassets;errorsand omissions;injuriesto employees;andnaturaldisasters.theassessor hasobtained coverage from variouscom m ercialinsurance com paniesto reduce hisexposure to these risk.

14 SU PPLEM FN TA L IN FO RM A TIO N

15 PLAQUEM 1NES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A -La-Hache,Louisiana ImpactofYear2000 on ComputerPrograms(Unaudited) The Y ear2000 issue isthe resultof com puterprogram sbeing written using tw o digitsratherthan four to define the applicable year. A ny of the A ssessor's com puter program s thathave tim e sensitive softw are m ay recognize:a date using "00" asthe year1900 ratherthan the year2000. Thiscould resultin a system failure or m iscalculations causing disruptions of operations, including am ong other things, a tem porary inability to process transactionsorengage in sim ilarnorm albusinessactivities. ]'he A ssessorhascom pleted an inventory of com putersystem sand otherelectronic equipm entthat m ay be affected by the year2000 issue and thatare necessary to conducting tile A ssessor's operations and have identified such system s as being the Assessor's netw ork of com puters used for financialreporting purposes. "the A ssessor'ssystem and personalcom putershave been assessed,rem ediated and tested Ii, The A ssessor'scustom ized softw are program shave been assessed,ren'lediated and tested No ccmttacted amountsarecommited to theseprojectsasofdecember31,1999 Because of the unprecedented nature of the Year2000 issue,its effects and the success of related rem ediation eforts w illnotbe fully determ inable untilthe year2000 and thereafter. M anagem entcannot assure thatthe A ssessor is or w illbe Year 2000 ready,thatthe A ssessor's rem editation efforts w illbe successfulin whole orin part,orthatpartiesw ith whom the A ssessordoesbusinessw illbe year2000 ready. The A ssessorisutilized externalresourcesto identify and testthe system sfory ear20(10 com pliance. 13

16 PLAQUEM INES PARISH ASSESSOR Pointe-A -La-H ache,louisiana StatementsofExpendituresComparedto Budget(GAAP Basis)- G eneralfund YearsEnded D ecem ber and 1998 Current: Personnelservicesand related benefits- Salaries: Assessor $ 91,942 Deputy Assessors 249,775 A llowance Other 824 G roup insurance 65,348 Pension 19,648 M edicare tax 1, Variance - Favorable Budget Actual (Unfavorable) Budget $ 80, ,775 8, ,145 24,589 1,854 $ 11,692 (8,o25) (5,797) (4,941) $ 76, ,030 4,100 53,601 19,753 1,277 $ 69, ,038 6,955 4,077 53,588 19,789 1,256 Totalpersnunelservices andrelatedbenefils 429, ,462 (7,071) 422, ,253 Variance - Favorable (Unfavorable) $ 6,955 (8) (6,955) (36) 21 O perating services- Professionalfees Insurance Telephone Traveland conference Totaloperating services 6,826 3,208 7,500 7,200 34,734 7,411 3,046 7,354 15,531 33,342 (585) ,669 1,392 18,810 2,100 8, ,410 20,542 1,835 8,192 23, ) ) M aterialsand supplies- O fi ce suppliesand expense Autom obile suppliesand m aintenance Auto allow ance D uesand subscriptions 15,538 2,250 5,400 2,400 15,344 1,831 5,400 2, ,737 1,300 8,70(I 5,000 3,554 1,106 9,000 2,229 1, (300) 2,77] Totalm aterialsand supplies 25,588 24, , Totalexpenditures $489,713 $494,738 $ (5,025) $510,413 $502,417 $ 7,996 14

17 IN TERN A L C O N TR O L AN D C O M P LIAN CE

18 C ]Burl~lI,~.CPA Russ~lF ChSrclpag/~l,CPA V~~t,~ R ~ v~,cpa Chrisr 81n,y,GPA CorcBd0 Chapr~ n.cpa p troycou~ k CPA pe-nya~oel~ SO"~ ~,CPA Mary I.TTIbodesk~CPA Ge~BkJA TrJbodeat~L Jr.CPA KeliM [x:~cet,cpa Ker~ nj RaChSLCPA K O LD ER,C HA M PA G N E,SLAVEN & RA IN E~,LLC CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS REPO RT ON COM PLIAN CE AN D ON IN TERN A L CON TRO L OV ER FIN AN CIA L REPO RTIN G BA SED ON AN A U D IT OF FIN AN CIAl. STA TEM ENTS PERFORM ED IN A CCORDAN CE W ITH G OV ERN M EN T A U DITIN G STAN DA RD S 234 R~ Bea~egard tbfa~ te.la Phorte (318) F~ ( t13 EasJBfi6ge ~o-~ t Breau~ B~.LA Phone (318) o F~ [318)332, EastW adltl Marks~41e,LA Pho~ (318) F~ (318) David Drive,Suite 105 ~ oan ot~.la 7o~ o Pt~ne (504)3s*2020 Fsx(504)3e w Cotl~ S~ee~ Vl~e Piffle,LA Phone (318)363`2792 FSX(318) W S~xth Ave~ e C~e~n.L~ phone ~4737 FBx(318)63~4568 Honorable RobertR.G ravolet Plaquem inesparish A ssessor Point-A -La-H ache.louisiana W e have audited the generalpurpose financialstatem entsof the Plaquem inesparish A ssessor,as of and forthe tw o yearsended Decem ber31,1999,and have issued ourreportthereon dated June 20,2000. W e conducted ourauditin accordance w ith generally accepted auditing standardsand the standardsapplicable to financialaudits contained in Governm enta uditing Stan _ dard _~s, issued by the Com ptroller G eneral of tire U nited States. Com pliance A s partof obtaining reasonable assurance aboutw hetherthe A ssessor's financialstatem ents are free of m aterialm isstatem ent,w e perform ed testsof itscom pliance w ith certain provisions of law s,regulations, and contracts,noncom pliance w ith w hich could have a directand m aterialeffecton the determ ination of financialstatem entam ounts. H ow ever,providing an opinion on com pliance w ith those provisiodsw asnotan objectiveofourauditand,accordingly,wedo notexpresssuch an opinion.theresultsofourtestsdisclosed no instances of noncom pliance thatare required to be reported underg overnm enta uditing Standards. W e Doled certaid irnm aterial instadces of noncom pliance that w e have reported to the m anagenrent of the Plaquem ines Parish A ssessorin a separate leterdated June 20,2000. InternalConṭr _oj_qverfi_nancialreporting In planning and perform ing ouraudit,w e considered the A ssessor's internalcontrolover financial reporting in order to de(ern rine our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financialstatem entsand notto provide assurance on the internalcontroloverfinancialreporting. H ow ever, w e noted a cerlain m ater involving the internalcodtroloverfinancialreporting and its operation thatw e considerto be a reportable condition. Reportable conditionsinvolve m atterscom ing to ourattention relating to significantdeficienciesin the design oroperation of the idternalcontroloverfinancialreporting that,in our judgment,co'jidadversely affecttheassessor'sability to record,process,summarizeand report financialdata consistent w ith the assertions of m anagem ent in the financial statem ents. The reportable condition is described in the accom panying corrective action plan forcurrentyearfindings. MemBER OF pc~erlcotinstran e Or certitude mlstlc ~ecoun~ 'ns SCKZlEJ~ OFLOOISthl~& CERT~FI~D PUBLIC ACC~ 5

19 A m aterialw eakness is a condition in w hich the design oroperation of one on'm ore of the internal controlcom ponents does notreduce to a relatively low levelthe risk that m isstatem ents in am ounts that w ould be m aterialin relation to the financialstatem entsbeing audited m ay occurand notbe detected w ithin a tim ely period by em ployees in the norm alcourse of perform ing theirassigned functions. O urconsideration of the intern alcontroloverfinancialreporting w ould notnecessarily disclose allm attersin the internalcontrol thatm ightbe reporlable conditionsan d,accordingly,w ould notnecessarily disclose allreportable conditions thatare also considered to be m aterialw eaknesses, How ever,w e considerthe item described above to be a m aterialw eak~,ess. Thisreportisintended forthe inform ation of the A ssessor. H ow ever,thisreportisa m aterof public record and itsdistribution isnotlim ited. K older,champagne,slaven & R ainey,llc Certified Public A ccountants M organ C ity,louisiana June 20,2000

20 PLAQUEM IN ES PARISH ASASESSOR Pointe-A -La-H ache,louisiana Schedule of Findingsand Questioned Costs Y earsended D ecem ber31,1999 and 1998 Part1. Sum m ary of A uditor'sresults A n m aqualified opinion w asissued on the financialstatem ents A reportable condition in internalcontrolwasdisclosed by the auditof the financialstatem entsand the condition isconsidered a m aterialw eakness. The audit did not disclose any instances of noncom pliance w hich are m aterial to the finaneia statem ents. A m anagem entletterw asissued PartI1.Findines w hich are reuuired to be reoorled in accordance w ith ~enerallv accented G overnm enta A u d _ iḷ~l~-standards: See corrective action plan forcurrentyearfindings

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23 C B~tlo~ F~ de~.cpa RcrsselF C,hamp6g~,CPA ~ci~ R S~e~.CPA ChdsRa~.~y.CPA conrad0 C~,apman.CPA F'TP3yCo Jr-Ale,CPA p~ y~ ScJ~Jg~l~,CPA M~ryI Ir,b,~ea~.CPA c,~1~d A.1~,bc,~ a~.jr,cpa F,el,~M D(~JCel CPA ge~ nj Rschal.CPA K O LD ER,C HA M PA G N E,S LAV EN & RA IN EY,LLC The H onorable Robert R.G ravolet Plaquem inesparish A ssessor Point-A -La-}lache,Louisiana CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS M AN AG EM EN T LETTER 234 R~ Bee~eOBrd t B(Bye~e.LA 7o5oa PTlone (318) F~ (31B]2~2-8~60 113EaslBlidge S~eet Btea~ BnaQe.LA FIlOf~ [318) Fax(318)3, ES$1 W adcil uarks',~le LA 71~ Phor,e (318) Fox{318) Oa'Ad Dave. S~Ji~e 105 Uo~Q~n~ry.tA 7038O Pt,o~ (504)3a4.20~ F~ (504) W.Co~ SVeet v~e P~a~e. LA 7o,~ 6 (3i8) F~ (318)363= ZW ~x~h Averse Oeedn.LA 7O655 Pho')e(3~8) Fax(318) During outauditof the generalpurpose financialstatem entsof the Plaquem inesparish A ssessorasof Decem ber31,1999 and forthe tw o yearsthen ended,w e noted certain areas in w hich the efficiency and effectiveness of the operations and/or com pliance w ith certain law s and regulations could be im proved. O urcom m entsare notintended to reflectupon the ability orintegrity of the A ssessor'spersonnel. The proposed docum ent for 1998 w as m ade available for public inspection on January 16,1998viapublication intheofficialjournal.lsa-rs 39:1305(B)requirethe proposed budgetbe m ade available forpublic inspection no laterthan fifteen days priorto the beginning of each fiscalyear,ordecem ber15'". W e would like to expressourappreciation to you and yourstaff,particularly youroffice staff,forthe courtesiesand assistance rendered to us in the perform ance of ouraudit. Should you have any questionsor need assistance,please feelfree to contactus. K OLDER,CH AM PA GN E,SLA VEN & RAIN E Y,LLC Certified Public A ccountants M organ C ity,louisiana June 20,2000 MEMBER OF ~ ERI~ INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED ~ BL~ ~ C~ S SOCIETY OF LOUlSt~blX CE~r,F=EO PUBLIC ^CCOO~r~NT s