ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSE SSO R FIN A N C IA L ~ Y earended D ecem ber31,2000

Transcription

1 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSE SSO R FIN A N C IA L ~ PO R T Y earended D ecem ber31,2000

2 TA B LE O F C O N TEN TS Page IndependentA uditor'sr eport 1-2 G EN ERA L PURPO SE FIN A N CIA L STA TEM EN TS (COM BIN ED STATEM EN TS -OVERVIEW ) ~om b,led bala~ce stmet-goveim ~m,~talfire d type a~d accour~tgroups 4 Statem entof revenues,expenditures,and changesin fund balance -budget(gaap basis)and actual-generalfire d N otesto financialstatem ents SU PPLEM EN TA L IN FO RM A TIO N FIN A N C IA L STA TEM EN T S O F IN D IV ID U A L FUN D A N D A (TC (K N ~I G R O U PS G eneralfund Com parative balance sheets 19 Statem entof revenues,expenditures,and changes in fund balance - budget(gaa P basis)and actual ~,~c,asse:ls G enerall ong-term D ebta ccountg roup: C om parative statem ents of generallong-term debt IN TER N A L C O N TR O L A N D C O M PLIA N C E Report on Com pliance and on InternalControloverFinancial R eporting B ased on an A uditof FinancialStatem entsperform ed in A ccordance w ith G overnm enta udi O T H ER SU PPLEM EN T A R Y IN FO R M A T IO N Sum m ary schedule of prioryearfindings Schedule of findings and questioned costs M anagem ent's corrective action plan for currentyear findings

3 (A Corporation ofcertified PublicAccountants) IN D EPEN D EN T A U D ITO R 'S R EPO R T E ugene H.D arnall, R etired 1990 E. L arry S ikes,, C V A D anny P.F rederick, C lay ton E D arn all, E ugene H.D arn all, lii, P au la D.B ihrn, Steph an ie M. H igginboth arn, John P.A rrnato, Jenn ifer S. Z iegler, C hris A.M iller, S tep hen R.D isch ler. M B A, Steven G. M oosa K athleen T. D arn all E rich G. L oew er, Jr., E rich G. L oew er, III, T am era T. L an dry. C arla R. F on teno t, R aegan D. Stelly, tfilda S. G u idry, Ju lie T.T em plet, B arbara A.C lark 1~([cl~ i<: F. L ~ 3rn : L auren F.V crrett M ichelle B. B orreilo,, C P?' 125 R ue B eau regard L afayette. L A The H onorable SherelA.M artin,jr.,a ssessor St.M ary Parish A ssessor E,L aurela ven u e E uniee,l A , P ere M egret ~ ~kbbevill~,la W e have audited the accom panying generalpurpose financialstatem ents of the St. M ary van sn A ssessor,a com ponentunitof the St.M ary Parish C ouncil,asof and forthe yearended D ecem ber 31, These general purpose financial statem ents are the responsibility of the A ssessor's m anagem ent. O ur responsibility is to express an opinion on these general purpose financial _~;tatem ents:b~sed otaot~raud{[. W e conducted outauditin accordance w ith generally accepted auditing standards and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in G overnm ent A uditin~ Standards, issued by the C om ptrollerg eneralof the U nited States. Those standards require thatw e plan and perform the auditto obtain reasonable assurance aboutw hether the generalpurpose financialstatem entsare free of m aterialm isstatem ent. A n auditincludes exam ining,on a testbasis,evidence supporting the am ounts and disclosures in the general purp ose financial statem ents. A n audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significantestim ates m ade by m anagem ent,as w ellas evaluating the overallgeneralpurpose financialstatem entpresentation. W e believe thatour audit provides a reasonable basis for ouropinion. In our opinion,the generalpurpose financialstatem ents referred to above presentfairly,in all m aterialrespects,the financialposition of the St.M ary Parish A ssessor asof D ecem ber 31,2000, and the results of its operations for the year then ended in conform ity w ith generally accepted accounting principles. u accorda lce w ith G overlm ~euta uditing Staudards,w e have also issued ourrepot1,dated belay 3, 200 i,on ourconsideration of the St.M ary Parish A ssessor'sintern alcontroloverfinancialreporting and our tests of its com pliance w ith certain provisions of law s,regulations,and contracts. M em berof: A m eric~n inslitute o f C ertifled P ublic A ccountant, Sociely otl ouisiana C crlified P ublica cco untant:

4 O ur auditw as perform ed for the purpose of form ing an opinion on the generalpurpose financial statem ents taken as a w hole. The accom panying financial inform ation listed as "O ther Supplem entary Inform ation"in the table of contents is presented for purposesof additionalanalysis and isnota required partof the generalpurp ose financialstatem ents of the St.M ary Parish A ssessor. Such inform ation hasbeen subjected to the auditing proceduresapplied in the auditof thegeneral purpose financialstatem ents and,in our opinion,is fairly stated,in allm aterialrespects,in relation to the generalpurpose financialstatem ents taken asa w hole. A Corporation of C ertified Public A ccountants M organ C ity,louisiana M ay 3,2001

5 G E N E R A L PU R PO SE FIN A2 4C IA L ST A T E M E N T S (CO M BINED STATEM ENTS -O VERVIEW )

6 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R C om bined B alance Sheet-G overnm entalfund Type and A ccountg roups D ecem ber 31,2000 A ccountg roups G overnm ental Fund Type G er~erat tseneral Lottg-Term F)eb Totals A SSET S A N D O T H ER D E BIT S C ash $ 6,507 $ $ 6,507 $ 3,606 Interest-bearing deposits Investm ents 51j41 60,879 51, ,081 60,879 R eceivables: Taxes(netofallowance for ur~collectible taxes) O ther 688,998 1, o197 t,640 D ue from other governm entalunits Equipm ent 535, ,808 A m ountto be provided for retirem ent of generallong-term debt 14~983 1& ,895 Tota~assets and otherdebts LIAB[LFIIES AND FUND EQUITY L iabilities: A ccounts payable $ 9,059 $ 9,059 1,455 A ccrued liabilities 1,849 1, D eferred revenue 711, ,674 Lease obligation payable 16,895 Totalliabilities Fund equity: [rlvestm erltin generalfixed assets 505,808 Fund balance (deficit)- U nreserved,undesignated Totalfund equity 87,810 87, , , The accom panying notes are an integralpartof this statem ent. 4

7 ST.M A R Y PA RISH A SSESSO R Statem entof R evenues,expenditures,and Changesin Fund B alance - Budget(GAAP Basis)and Actual-GeneralFund Y ear Ended D ecem ber31, v ariance - F'~v(~rc~ble 1999 B udget A ctual (Unfavorable) A ctual R evenues: Taxes-ad valorem 662,780 $ 663,747 $ 967 $ 636,762 lntergovernm ental- State revenue sharing 63,932 63,932 63,645 M iscellaneous -!Nteresto11deposits 15,377 t6, O ther Totalrevenues 760,790 18, ,190 (558) 1,400 13, ,977 Expenditures: C urrent- G eneralgovern m ent 691, ,236 (3i242) 648,0~74 Debt~<:rvice o. Principalretirem ent t8,227 12,809 5,418 9,071 Interestand fiscalctiarges C apitaloutlay Totalexpenditures ,550 1,786 29, ,124 (1,636) (29,t14) (28,574) 1,418 14, Excess of revenues over expenditures 50,240 23,066 (27,174) 51,077 O ther fi nancing source: Proceeds from capitallease Excess ofreveouesand other financit~g sources over expenditures 50,240 33,962 (16,278) 56,386 Fund balance (deficit),beginning 5~ Fund balance (deficit),ending The accom panying notes are an integralpartof this statem ent.

8 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N O TE 1 SU M M A R Y O F SIG N IFIC A N T A C C O U N TIN G PO LIC IE S A s provkled by A rticle VII,Section 24 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974,the A ssessor is ejected by tile voters of the parish at~d serves a term of fbt,r'years. T im A ssesser assesses alltealand movable p,"operty ititte parish,subjectto ad wilo~em ta~atioi:~. 'l}~e As~essor{sat,tholized to appointasm any deputiesas m ay be necessary forthe efficientoperation of the office and to provide assistance to the taxpayersof the parish.the deputies are authorized to perform allfunctionsof the office,butthe A ssessor isofficially and pecuniary responsible forthe actionsof the deputies. The A ssessor's ofi ce is located in the St.M ary Parish Courthouse in. The A ssessor em ploys 20 em ployees,including 10 deputies. In accordance w ith Louisiana law,the A ssessorbasesrealand m ovable property assessm m ltson conditions existing on January 1of the tax year.the A ssessorcom pletesariassessnientlisting by M ay lof the tax yearand subm itsthe listto the parish governing authority and the Louisiana Tax C om m ission as prescribed by law. O nce the assessm entlisting isapproved,tile A ssessorsubm itstim assessm entrollto the parish tax collector w ho isresponsible forcollecting and distributing taxes to the varioustaxing bodies. A td ecem ber 31,2000,the:re ave 42,422 realprope:rty~and m ow,ble property assessm entstotaling $122,106,629 and $180,993,686,rem:)ectively. 'ihisrepresentsan increase of 4,646 assessm ents The follow ing is a sum m ary of certain significantaccounting policies B asisof Presentation The accom panying generalpurpose financialstatem entsof the St.M ary Parish A ssessorhave been prepared in conform ity w ith generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as applied to governm entalunits. The Governm entalaccounting StandardsBoard (GASB)isthe accepted standard-setting body forestablishing governm entalaccounting and financialreporting principles. FinanciN Reoo~ ing Entity A s the governing attthority of the parish,for reporting purposes,the St.M ary Parish C ouncilisthe financialreporting entity forst.m ary Parish. Thefinancialreporting entity consistsof (a)the prim ary governm ent(paristlcouncil), (b)the organi>ration forwhich the prim ary govern m entis I~1:~tic r~lly acc,~t!it~b!e a~d (c)~:!-herr,rgaliz~ otsfbrv,!l{c!~tire rwt re :ro d ~g {ic~,-!ce ~:,~their: relationship w ith the prim ary governm entare such thatexclusion w ould cause tile reporting entity's financialstatem ents to be m isleading or incom plete.

9 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N O TE 1 SUM M ARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINU ED) G overnm entala ccounting Standards B oard Statem entn o.14 established criteria for'determ ining w hich com po~e~t ur~its shouid be c(:m sidered pa~-of the St,M ~wy P~risb Cotm ci!f?w fhm tm ial re~o~5~g p~r0oses.the basic cr{te~iot~fbri~cludi~g a pote~ta!com po~entui~itv,ithit~tim,yep<~t:i~g entity isfinancialaccountability.the G A SB hassetforth criteria to be considered in determ ining firm ncialaccountability. Thiscriteria includes: 1. AppC m ing a voting majority of an organizatkm'sgovern ing body,and a. The ability of the Parish C ouncilto im pose its w illon thatorganization and/or b. The potentialfor file organization to provide specific financialbenefits to or im pose specific financialburdenson th e Parish C ouncil. 2. O rgarlizatio,sfbrw hich the Parish Councildoesnotappointa voting m ajority butare fiscally dependenton the Parish Council. 3. O cga,g,:a, km s fb,'~w hich the r,.:portfi~g e,:itity ~,m ~~cia statem er~ts w o~,ld be: m isleading if data of the organization isnotincluded because of the nature or significance of the relationship. B ecause the St.M ary Parish C ouncilprovidesoffice space to the A ssessor and the significance of the relationship betw een the A ssessor and the St.M ary Parish C ouncil,the A ssessor w as determ ined to be a com ponent unit of the St.M ary Parish C ouncil, the financial reporting entity. The accom panying financial statem ents present inform ation only on the funds m aintained by the A ssessorand do notpresentinform ation on the St.M ary Parish Council,the generalgovernm ent services provided by that governm entalunit,or the other governm entalunits thatcom prise the fi nancialreporting entity. A fund is a separate accounting entity w ith a self-balancing setof accounts.o n the other hand,an accountgroup isa financialreporting device designed to provide accountability for certain assets and liabilities thatare notrecorded in the funds because they do not directly afect netexpendable available financialresources.

10 ST.M A R Y PA RISH A SSE SSO R N otesto FinancialStatem ents N OTE 1 SUM M ARY OF SIGN IFICAN T ACCO UN TIN G POLICIES (CON TIN UED) Funds of file A ssessor are classified as governm entalfu nds. G overnm entalfundsaccountforthe A ssessor's general activities, including tt~e collection and disbursem ent of specific or legally restricted m ottles and the acquisitiol~of generalfixed assets. The G eneralfund,asprovided by Louisiana R evised Statute 47:1906,isfile principalfund of the A ssessorand accounts fbr the operation of the A ssessor'soffice.c om pensation leceived from tile various taxing bodies,prescribed by fbrm ula in Louisialm R evised Statues 47:1907-I908 and ad valorem tax revenue authorized by A ct292 of 1985 is accounted for in thisfund.g eneraloperating expenditures are paid from this fund. B asis ofa ccountin~ The accounting and financialreporting treatm entapplied to a fund is determ ined by itsm easurem ent focus. The G eneralfund isaccounted forusing a currentfinancialresourcesm easurem entfocus. W ith this m easurem entfocus,only curre~3tassets and currentliabilitiesare generally included on the balance sheet.the operating statem entof the G eneralfund presentsincreasesand decreasesin net currentassets.~[he m odified accrualbasisof accounting is used by the G eneralfund.the G eneral 17m ~d ~ e,~rim!},llov,it,g practicesir~~ecordi~g revet~m~sa~~d e>pe~jdil:ures: R evenues - A d valorem taxes are recorded in the yearthe taxes are available to finance operations.a d valorem taxesare assessed on a calendaryearbasis,becom e due on N ovem ber15 of each yearand becom e delinquenton D ecem ber 31.The taxes are generally collected in D ecem ber,january,and February of each fiscalyear. Interestearned on tim e deposits is considered susceptible to accrualand is recorded in the year in w hich it is earned. Substantially allother revenues are recorded w hen received. Expenditures Expenditures are generally recognized under the m odified accrualbasis of accounting w hen the related fund liability is incurred,exceptthat accum ulated unpaid vacation and sick pay are not accrued. B udgets The A ssessor uses the follow ing budgetpractices: 1. The A ssessorprepares a proposed budgetfor the fiscalyear prior to the beginning of each fiscalyear.

11 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N O TE 1 SUM M ARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) 2. A sum m ary of the proposed budgetispublished and the public notified thatthe pl~oposed budgetis ~w ailabie f~:~rpublic it~spectio~~.. 3. A public hearing isheld on the proposed budgetafterpublication of the callfor the hearing. 4. A fter the holding of the public hear'h~g and com pletiot7of'aljaction t~ecessary to finalize and im plem entthe budget,tile budgetisadopted through passage of an ordinance prior to the com m encem entof the fiscalyearforw hich the budgetis being adopted. 5. B udgetary am endm ents involving increases in expenditures resulting fi'om revenues exceeding am ounts estim ated require the approvalof the A ssessor. 6. A llbudgetary appropriations lapse atthe e~d of each fiscalyear Ericurtibrances Enct~m brance accouhting,underw hich purchase orders ~ contracts,and othercom m itm entsfbrthe expenditure of m oniesare recorded in orderto reserve thatportion of the applicable appropriation, is notem ployed by the A ssessor as an extension of form albudgetary integration in the funds, C ash and C ash E~auivalents C ash includesam ounts in dem and deposits,interest-bearing dem and deposits, and tim e deposits. U nder state law,the A ssessor m ay depositfunds in dem and deposits,interest-bearing dem and deposits,or tim e depositsw ith state banks organized under Louisiana law orany other state of the U nited States,orunder the law s of the U nited States. Fixed A ssets Fixed assets are recorded as expenditures atthe tim e purchased,and the related assets are capitalized in the genera/fb;ed assets accou~tgroup. N o depreciation has been provided on generalfixed ~s~et~. A lli:.b ed a~sets are valued ati:~is~:o~:icatcost,~or est'im aled cos,is if historical, cost is not available. D eferred R evenue Propert)/taxescollected atd ecem ber31,2000,thatare notavailable to finance the operationsof the currentperiod are reported asdeferred revenues and are recognized asoperating revenues in the subsequentperiod. 9

12 ST.M A R Y PA RISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N O TE 1 SUM M ARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) C om oensated A bsences Long-Term O bligations Fund Equity Reserves- 4:ese w es ~:,~. p~ece ; {!:~<~e p<'.;t)~,s o ;'f~ : eq ity ap[*':(p %,:e fbr~expe~:~oit,~:e (,i leg~ lv segregated fbr a specific future use. D esignated Fund B alance - D esignated fund balan ce represents tentative plans for future use of financialresources. U se of E stim ates The St.M ary Parish A ssessoruses estim ates an d assum ptions in preparing financialstatem ents Those estim ates and assum otionsaffectthe reported am ountsof assets and liabilities. the disclosure, of contingentassets and liabilities and the reported revenues and expenditures or expenses,, as appropriate. C om parative D ata TotalC olum ns on Statem ents 10

13 ST.M A RY PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N O TE 2 LEV IED TA X ES The follow ing isa sum m ary of authorized and levied ad valorem taxes: A utholized M illage Levied M illage A ssessm entd istrict Totaltaxeslevied during 2000 w ere $711,187.Taxesreceivable atd ecem ber 31,2000 of $688,998 (1999 $554,197)consistsof $711,187 forthe2000 assessm ent,of which 3.12 percentor$22,189 is considered uncollectible, The follow ing are the principaltaxpayers forthe parish: Percentage of Type of A ssessed TotalA ssessed Taxpa3et V aluation V ahm tion CentralLo~Asia~la Electric C O. C abotc orporation PUblic U tility Spec.C hem icals $13,333,i50 5,817, /o 1.92% B ellsouth C om m unications Telecom m unications 5,516, % D egussa Carbon B lack Spec.Chem icals 5,006, % A N R Pipeline C o. G aspipeline 4,796, % Trunkline G as Co. G aspipeline 4,528, % Teche FederalSavings B ank B ank 3,429, % C olum bian C hem icals Spec.Ctiem icals 3,300, % V astar R esources,inc. O il& G as 3,144, % C ooperc am eron C orporation O il& G as 2,923, % N autiluspipeline Co. G aspipeline 2, _ % N O'IE 3 CA 5~-~AN D ~,,v,x~: '-'~~"'~gq 17 iiv A ~:.;N 17S, _ AtDecem ber31,2000,the Assessorhascash and cash equivalents(book balances)totaling $57,748 asfollow s: C ash on hand D em and deposits M oney m arketaccounts $ 100 6,407 51,34! Total

14 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N O TE 3 CASH AN D CASH EQUIVALEN TS (CONTINUED) These depositsare stated atcost,which approximatesmarket.understate law,these deposits(orthe resuiti~g batik balar~ces)tnt.~stbe secured by federa~depositinsura~tce orthepledgeof securities ow t~ed by the f~scataget~tb~hk.t~te m ~M ~erval~~e oftl~e pledged securitiesph~si:he federaldeposit insurance m ustatalltim esequalthe am ounton depositw ith the fiscalager~t.these securitiesare held in the nam e of the pledging fiscalagentbank in a holding or custodialbank thatis m utually acceptable to both parties.atdecem ber31,2000,the Assessorhas$127,459 in deposits(collected batik balarmes).thesedepositsaresecured flora risk by $127,459 offederaldepositir~surance and $604,110 of pledged securitiesheld by the custodialbank in the nam e of the fiscalagentbank (GASB Category 3). Even thouglithe pledged securitiesare considered uncoliateralized (Category'3)underthe provisions of G A SB Statem entn o.3,r.s.39:1229 im posesa statutory requirem enton the custodialbank to advertise and sellthe pledged securitiesw ithin 10 daysof being notified by the A ssessorthatthe fiscalagenthasfailed to pay deposited fundsupon dem and. N O 'IE ~ [N V ESTM EN IS The A ssessor can investin securities of the U nited States G overnm entunlesssuch an investm entis expressly prohibited by law.the carrying am ounts and approxim ate m arketvaluesof investm ents are sum m arized asfollow s: D ecem ber31,2000 arket V alue/ Interest Carrying D escription R ate A m ount C ost G eneralfund Louisiana A sset M armgem entpod Various $ 60,879 $ 60~879 Investm entsin the am ountof $60,879 atdecem ber31,2000 are in the Louisiana AssetM anagem ent Pool(LAM P),a localgovernm entinvestmentpool.in accordance w ith GASB Codification Section It50.165,the investm entin LA M P istrotcategorized in the three risk categoriesprovided by G A SB Cod [;cafot!~[5(k {6 ibecm,se the i>ves~m el!:s iv {he pooto fil~~dsa~d!hereby,r~otevide~lced by securities thatexistin physicalorbook entry fori:ri.la M P isadm inistered by LA M P,lrm.,a nonprofitcorporation organized underth e law sof th e State of Louisiana,and isgovern ed by a board of directors com prised of representatives fi~om variouslocalgovernm ents and statew ide professional organizations. O nly local governm ents having contracted to participate in LA M P have an investmentinterestin itspoolof assets. Theprimary objective of LAM P isto provide a safe environm entfor the placem entof public funds in short-term,high quality investm ents.the LA M P portfolio includes only securities and other obligat ionsin w hich localgovernm ents in Louisiana are authorized to invest.a ccordingly,la M P investm ents are restricted to securitiesissued,guaranteed, or backed by the U.S.Treasury,the U.S.governm ent,or one of its agencies,enterprises,or 12

15 ST.M A R Y PA RISH A SSESSO R N otesto FinancialStatem ents NOTE 4 INVESTM ENTS (CONTINU ED) instrum entalities,as w ellas repurchase agreem entscollateralized by those securities. Tile dollar w eigtlted average f~ortfblio m ~turity of LA M P assets is re,~tricted to Notm ere tl~an 90 d~ys,arid consists of no sect,~rities w ith a m aturity in excess of 397 days. LA M P isdesigned to be highly liquid to give its participants im m ediate accessto theiraccountbalance. N O TE 5 FIX ED A SSET S A sum m ary of changes in generalfixed assetsfollow s B ala~ce January 1, 2000 A dditions D eletions B ale~nce D ecem ber 31, 2000 C I:fAN ()ES [N LO ~\IG -T ER M D!-;!3 F The follow ing is a sum m ary of long-term debttransactionsibr the yearended D ecem ber 31,2000: Long-term debt,january 1,2000 A dditions 16,895 10,896 R etirem ents Long-term debt,d ecem ber31,2000 N O TE 7 LEA SE O B LIG A TIO N S "Ihe A ssessorentered into a capitallease agreem entforthe purchase of com puterequipm ent.a sof D ecem ber31,2000,there rem ained a totalprincipalobligation of $2,474,payable in m onthly installm entsof $835 including interest.the finalpaym ent,atw hich tim e the assetw illbecom e the property of the A ssessor,is due in A pril2001. Ttie A ssessorentered into a capitailease agreem entforthe purchase o[com pt~terequipm eat.a sof D ecem ber 3 I,2000,there rem ained a totalprincipalobligation of $2,880,payable in m onthly installm entsof $179 including interest.the finalpaym ent,atw hich tim e the assetw illbecom e the property of the A ssessor,isdue in M ay

16 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otes to FinancialStatem ents N OTE 7 LEA SE OBLIGATION S (CON TIN UED) The A ssessor'entered into a capitallease agreem entforthe purchase of com puterequipm ent.a sof D ecem ber31,2000,there rem ained a totalprir~cipaloblig~tk:,n of $9,629,p~yable i~m ov.tbiy installm entsof $390 ~ncluding interest.the finalpayrr~ent,atw hich tim e the assetw illbecom e the property of the A ssessor,is due in A ugustof M inim um future lease paym entsunderthese lease agreem ents as of D ecem ber31,2000 through the expiration date are as tbllow s: Y ear Ended D ecem ber 31 A m ount 200I ,~68 5,575 3,120 18,863 Less: A m ountrepresenting interest 3,880 N U IE 8 PEN SIO N PLA N Plan D escription Substantially allem ployees of the St.M ary Parish A ssessor'soffice are m em bersof the Louisiana A ssessor's R etirem ent System,a cost-sharing,m ultiple-em ployer defined benefit pension plan adm inistered by a separate board of trustees. A llfull-tim e em ployees w ho are under the age of 60 atthe tim e of originalem ploym entand are not draw ing retirem entbenefitsfrom any other public retirem entsystem in Louisiana are required to pd;icipatein thesystem,employeeswho retireat0rafterage.55withatleast!2 yearsof credited service oratorafterage 50 w ith atleast30 yearsofcredited service are entitled to a retirem ent benefit,payable m onthly for life,equalto 3 percentof their final-average salary foreach yearof credited service,notto exceed 100 percentof theirfnal-average salary.final-average salary isthe em ployee'saverage salary overthe 36 consecutive of joined m onthsthatproduce the highest ~verage~ Fm ployees w'bo tet'm bm te w ith ~t least J2 5e~-~rs o1:service a~~d do t~ot v~i~t~dr~v~ their cm pk3~ee cont~:ibutjons tlay retire atoralterage 55 and receive the benefi~accrued to theirdate o~ term ination. The System also providesdeath and disability benefits. B enefits are established or am ended by state statute, The System issues an annualpublicly available financialreportthatincludes financialstatem ents and required supplem entary info~ ation for the System.Thatreportm ay be obtained by w riting to the Louisiana A ssessor's R etirem entsystem,posto ffice B ox 1786,Shreveport,Louisiana ,orby calling (318)

17 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R N otesto FinancialStatem ents NOTE 8 PEN SION PLAN (CONTIN UED) Funding Policy - Pla~im em bersate,teq~ifed by state statt~te to cott~ib~te 7.0 percentof their~~ talcove~ed sala :y. and the St.M ary Parish A ssessoris required to contribute atan actuarially determ ined rate. Tile currentrate is5.75 percentof annualcovered payroll.c ontributionsto tale System also include onefourth of one percent(one percentfororleansparish)of the taxesshown to be collectible by the tax rolls of each parish,ptus revem ~e shari~lg hin ds appropriated by the legislature. "[he contribution requirem entof plan m em bers and the St.M ary Parish A ssessor are established and m ay be am ended by state statute.a s provided by Louisiana R evised Statute 11:103,the em ployer contributions are determ ined by actuarialvaluation and are subjectto change each yearbased on theresultsof the valuation forthe p~iorfisca!year.the St.M ary Parisi~Assessor'scontributkm sto the System fbr the years ending Decem ber 31,2000, 1999 and i998 w ere $27,140, $22,665 and $20,513, respectively,equalto the required contributions foreach year. N O TE 9 EX PEN D ITU RES O F TH E A SSESSO R N O T IN C LU D ED IN TH E FIN A N C IA L S]A TEM EN TS Tim Assessor'soffice ~s located h~the St.M ar3 ~ai"ish Court},ouse Tim:upkeep m id m ai,~tei:m tme of the courthouse ispaid by the St.M ary Parish C ouncil. N O TE 10 RISK M A N A G EM EN T The D istrictis exposed to variousrisksof lossrelated to torts;theftof,dam age to,and destruction of assets;errorsand om issions;injuriesto employees;and naturaldisasters.the Districthaselected to purchase insurance coverage through the com m ercialinsurance m arketto cover itsexposure to loss. The D istrictis insured up to policy lim its foreach of the above risks. There w ere no significant changesin coverages,retentions,orlim itsduring the yearended D ecem ber3 1,2000.Settled claim s have notexceeded the com m ercialcoveragesin any of the previoustlree f~scatyears~ 15

18 SU PPL E M E N T A L IN FO R M A T IO N

19 FIN A N C IA L ST A T E M E N T S O F IN D IV ID U A L F U N D A N D A C C O U N T G R O U P'S

20 G EN ERA L FU N D To account for resources traditionally associated w ith governm ents w hich are not required to be accounted forin anotherfund. 18

21 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R G eneralfund C om parative B alance Sheets D ecem ber 31,2000 and A SSET S C ash Interest-bearing deposits Investm ents R eceivables: ~I'axes(netof allowance foruncollectible taxes) O ther D ue from other governm entalunits $ 6,507 51,341 60, ,998 1, , ,197 1, 'I'otalassets LIA B ILITIES A N D FU N D BA LA N C E A ccotm ts payable A ccrued liabilities l.~e letred ~evem ~e Totalliabilities 1, : Fund balance (deficit): U nreserved,undesignated 87,810 53,848 Totalliabilities and fund balance $ 809,905 $ 741,180

22 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R G eneralfund 2000 V ariance - Favorable 1999 B udget A ctua (U nfavorable) A cttm l R evenues: Taxes -ad valorem Intergovernm ental- $ 662,780 $ 663,747 $ 967 $ 636,762 63,932 63,932 63,645 State revenue sharing M i~.cett~m e~us - Intereston deposits 15,3'77 16,368 99l 10,058 18,701, (5581 _ O ther Totalrevenues 760,79~ ~ 1.40~ 72~ Expenditures: G e~eralgovernm eat- "D,~a!:ic,t~ &~,;tc,e:~:4:~er~e D uesarid subscriptions, ~ ~ ~~' 5~ 2,220 ~? q46 1,850 tj)47 9~ ,813. 8,025 Expense allow ance Insurance -general Insurance -group Legaland professionalfees 25,823 47,i41 31, ,910 50,796 33, ,913 23,977 (3,655) 42,850 (1,825) 28, M iscellaneous O fi ce expense 11,669 2,717 12,812 2,659 (1,143) 9~ ,020 Postage R etirem ent R epairs and m aintenance 20,920 73,909 4o65 _l 27,140 72, ,521 (6,220) 22,665 1,846 47,205 3, ~963 Salaries T axes 7,2 14 4,1O9 7~682 3,997 (4681 7, ,7~a ~( Telephone Traveland sem inars Totalgeneralgovernm ent 4, ,994 3, , _ 7.17~ (3.242~ D ebt service - p ~qn,cii:~:fl tetiretnent [tlterest Totaldebtservice 18,227 I'> 8r~q '- I'8 9~07I 15~ 1,78~ (1~63~6j 1,4.!~ 18,372 14, ,48R C apitaloutlay - G eneralgovernm ent: Taxation: Equipm ent qtotalexpenditures 17R (29.1t4J 14, ,12.4 (28.574i _

23 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R G eneralfund Statem entof R evenues,expenditures,and C hanges in Fund B alance - Budget(GAAP Basis)and Actual(Continued) Y earended Decem ber31,2000 W ith C om parative A ctuala m ounts fory earended D ecem ber3 I, V arlatlce - Favorable 1999 Budget Actual (Ur~fhvorable) A ctt~al Excess of revenues over expenditures 50,240 23,066 (27,174) 51,077 O ther f~t~r~cir~g sou!~ce: Proceedsfi"om capitallease Excessof revenuesand other financing sources over expenditures 50,240 33,962 (I6,278) 56,386 Fund balance (deficit),beginning 53, ,848 Fund balance (deficit),ending 21

24 G EN ER A L FIX ED A SSET S A C C O UN T G R O U P To accountfor fixed assets notused in proprietary fire d operations. 22

25 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R Com parative Statem ents of G eneralfixed A ssets D ecem ber 31,2000 and G ener~[fixed assets,atcost Equipm e~lt Investm entin generalfixed assets Property acquired from - G eneralfund 23

26 G EN ERA L LO N G -TE R M D EB T A C C O U N T G RO U P To account for unm atured principal am ounts on general long-term debt expected to be financed from governm entaltype funds. 24

27 ST.M A R Y PA RISH A SSESSO R C om parative Statem ents of G enerallong-term D ebt D ecem ber31,2000 and A M O U N T A V A ILA B LE A N D TO B E PR O V ID ED FO R ~['H E REIIRI d,m EN '["O F G EN ER A L LO N G -'[E ~$.;ID EBT A m ountavailable for debtretirem ent A m ountto be provided from : A d valorem taxes Totalavailable and to be provided 14,983 16,895 $ 14,983 16,895 G EN ER A L LO N G -T ~R M D EBT PAY A B LE Lease obligation payable 14,983 16,895 Totalgenerallong-term debtpayable 14,983 16,895

28 IN T E B2~A L C O N T R O L A N D C O M PLIA N C E 26

29 arnall,sikes F rederick ~ (A Corporation ofcertified PublicAccountants) R eporton C om pliance and on InternalC ontrol overfina,cialr eportbig B ased on an A udito:f FinancialStatem ents Perfbnned in A ccordance w ith G overnm enta uditin~ Standards E u gen e H.D arn all,,r etired 1990 E. L arry S ikes, D anny P. F rederick, C layto.n E D arre l 1, K u gene H D atn :,ll [li Paula D.B ihm Stephanie M.H igginbotharn, John P.A rm ato, K athleen T. D arn all E rich G.L oew er,jr., E rich G.L oew er, III, T am era "[.L an dry, C arla R. F on teno t, 1Zacgan D. S telly, H ilda S. G u idry. Julie "1-.Tem plel B arb t.ta A. (21~r :, M otlica F. L ~:vcrn/~. L aurcn F. V crrctt, M ichelle B. B orrello. C VA Jennifer S.Z iegler, C hris A.M iller~ Stephen R.D ischler, M B A, S teven G. M oosa, C [A C P.,"~ The H onorable SherelA.M artin,jr.,a ssessor Parish of St.M ary State of L ouisiana 12 5 R ue B eau regard L ~~~v ette L k l E.L aurela venue E un ice,l A B rashe;r ~'.v nt~e S t ite :~(!1 M orga rtc it}:,l A ct W e have audited the generalpurpose financialstatem ents of the St.M ary Parish A ssessor,asof and 404PeteKIegret a bbeville,l A for the yearended D ecem ber 31,2000,and have issued our report thereon dated M ay 3,2OOl. W e 33" conducted our auditin accordance w ith generally accepted auditing standards and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in G overnm ent A uditing Standards, issued by the C ~:m ptroller(fete ra of'the U nited States C olnptiatice A s part of obtaining reasonable assurance aboutw hether the St.M ary Par ish A ssessor's general purp ose financialstatem ents ar e free of m aterialm isstatem ent,w e perform ed tests of 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 fi nancialstatem entam ounts.h ow ever,providing an opinion on compliance with those provisionswasnotan objective of ouraudit,and accordingly, w e do notexpress such an opinion.the results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncom pliance thatare required to be rep ort ed under G overn m enta uditin~ Standards InternalC ontrolo verfinancialreporfi n In planning and pertbrm ing ouraudit,w e considered the St.M ary Parish A ssessor'sinternalcontrol over financialreporting in order to determ ine our auditing procedures for the purp ose of expressing our opinion on the generalpurpose financialstatem ents and notto provide assurance on the intern al controloverfi~ ~cialtepo~ irg O urco~lsideration of the internalcontrolover~tnancialreporting w ould uc_~tnecessatily d[sc:~_,'3~:a.l/m atters in tkt~:~htte,~l:a lcontrotew e i::~aicialrepot+t~lg tlla m ight be m aterialw eakm esses.a n'm terialw eakness is a condition in w hich the design or operation of one orm ore of the internalcontrolcom ponents does notreduce to a relatively low levelthe risk that m isstatem ents in am ounts that w ould be m aterial in relation to the general purp ose financial statem ents being audited m ay occurand notbe detected w ithin a tim ely period by em ployees in the norm alcourse of perform ing their assigned functions. W e noted no m atters involving the internal controlover financialreporting and its operation thatw e considerto be m aterialw eaknesses. 27 M ernberof: A rnerican instituteof C ertifled Public A ccountants Society ofloui~iana C ertified P ublica ccountant;

30 Thisreportisintended solely forthe inform ation and use of the St.M ary Parish A ssessorand others w ithin the organization and is notintended to be and should notbe used by anyone other than these specified parties. A C orporation of C ert ified Public A ccountants M organ C ity,louisiana M ay 3,

31 O TH E R SU PPL E M E N TA R Y IN FO R ~CIA T IO N

32 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R Sum m ary Schedule of Prior Y ear Findings Y earended D ecem ber31,2000 There w ere no findings noted in the prior year

33 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R Schedule of Findingsand Questioned Costs Y ear Ended D ecem ber 31,2000 Part1: Sum m ary of A uditor's R esults FIN A N C IA L STA TEM EN T S A uditor's Report- FinancialStatem ents A n unqualified opinion hasbeen issued on the St.M ary Parish A ssessor'sfinancialstatem entsas of and forthe yearended D ecem ber31,2000. R eportable C ondition - FinancialR eportin~ There w ere no reportable conditionsin internalcontroloverfinancialreporting noted during the audit. M aterialn oncom pliance - FinancialR eportin~ There w ere no m aterialinstancesof noncom pliance noted during the audit. FIll?D E rma A W A!~!])S This section is notapplicable for tile fiscalyearended D ecem ber31,2000 Part2: Findings R elating to an A u ditin A ccordance w ith G overnm enta uditinz Standards There w ere no findings noted during the audit. Part3: Findingsand Q uestioned CostsRelating to FederalProgram s A td ecem ber31,2000,the St.M ary Parish A ssessor,did notm eetthe requirem ents to have a single auditin accordance w ith O M B CircularA -133,therefore thissection isnotapplicable. 31

34 ST.M A R Y PA R ISH A SSESSO R M anagem ent's C orrective A ction Plan For C urrenty ear Findings Y earended D ecem ber 31,2000 There w ere no findingsnoted during the audit. 32